Quorum
by eris fault
Summary: In a land ravaged by the conflict between gods and humans, a single Summoner rises to crush the Four Fallen Gods, save the world, and chase a few frogs. (Fem!Summoner AU, follows the game plot)
1. Chapter 1

**Hi there! Here is an AU fic for the mobile game Brave Frontier by GUMI. The protagonist is a female, and not from the BF universe. ****She's from Earth, but she isn't a self-insert. Since the universe rules of BF are really vague, I thought it would be better to do it like this so I could introduce _my _interpretation of the universe, and convey it in a way that doesn't break immersion. **

**Oh, who am I kidding. This is just self-indulgent trashfic. I refuse to feel bad about writing this; all discussion about Brave Frontier is either metagame or waifu talk. I'm writing this for the ladies, I suppose.**

**Some of these lines are paraphrased from in-game dialogued; paraphrased because most of it is awkward and cringey.**

**Apologies for this A/N. They'll mostly be at the end of chapters, where I'll also state my headcanons for introduced characters and such. **

* * *

><p>If you had an opportunity to save the world, would you?<p>

The expected answer was "yes," obviously. Which asshole would say, "No, I would relish in watching millions suffer and society crumble into an unrecognizable shadow of what it once was"?

It was one of those hypothetical questions people asked to fill the blank spaces of pauses in conversation, phatic expressions, not to be taken seriously. The expected response to the socially accepted "yes" was a nod or a wistful sigh, yearning for adventure (but not really, since there was a Calculus exam on Thursday).

The expected termination of this conversation was _not _to be flung into some mysterious vortex into a dark abyss, where a twinkling rainbow light asked for help with saving a world. She had been making a quick run to the convenience store for instant noodles and pretzels and then a mysterious voice asked her a question. Absentmindedly, she answered, and bam, she was sucked into a set of ornate monolithic gates.

_ I require your assistance in saving Grand Gaia,_ the light implored. They were soul-communing, or something, because the light had no voice. Maybe she was drugged. Maybe she had been hit by a car, or something, and was hallucinating in the last few moments of her life.

...Gaia? For the name of a mysterious fantasy world parallel to hers? How very cliché. She expected her subconscious to be a bit more creative. But then again, what kind of stick-in-the-mud would turn down such a chance, fake or not? It took a special kind of dunce to tell the all-powerful sparkle to fuck off. So she nodded in acquiescence, and before she knew it, a force sent her flying through the darkness at super-high velocity, again.

All she could hear was cold wind and all she could see was emptiness. The space between worlds was pretty desolate and depressing, she thought, before she was forced through the exit into a sunny meadow, her head hitting something hard as her vision blacked out.

* * *

><p>"-up! Wake up!" A distant, feminine voice. The feeling of grass on her skin. A cool, refreshing breeze. Fuck saving the world, this was the life. She could lay here forever, the pale sun warming her body as she napped her days away-<p>

"HEY! WAKE UP!"

Her eyes shot open, tranquility ruined. A girl was standing above her, her body blocking the view of the sun.

First impression: Wow, really cute. Her clothes were colorful and loose-fitting, pale blue hair flowing over her slender shoulders as she glared down, bright blue eyes darkened with irritation.

She puffed her cheeks out (adorably!). "Geez, I thought Lord Lucius sent me a dead Summoner! Not that he'd ever choose a weakling."

So the light's name was Lucius? Funny how little details like that could slip by during silly discussion about apocalypses in the synapses between universes. Well, Lucius had probably told her at one point, but she didn't pay attention. So, she had his (its? Lucius seemed neutral, but "Lord" implied masculinity) name down, but…

"Who are you?" she asked, sitting up. The girl huffed.

"I'm Tilith, Lord Lucius's advisor and your guide! I'm also a goddess!"

"…Guide?" Goddess? Goddesses were a thing? She noticed how Tilith's hair seemed to change color at the ends, depending on how the light hit it. She also noticed that she was in some meadow, with no recognizable landmarks or street signs in sight. A small crater surrounded her, presumably where Lucius had unceremoniously dumped her like the human trash she was.

…This was a lot to take in at once. For one, the grass here was greener than any grass she had ever seen in her life – it looked artificially emerald, slick with morning dew. She wondered if it would taste like spearmint if she plucked a blade out of the ground and ate it.

"You're kind of slow, aren't you? I'm your guide across Grand Gaia! You-" A rustling bush distracted Tilith from what seemed to be the beginning of a long rant, and something popped out.

It…it was… a mochi. A green tie-dyed mochi, with a darker green puffball on its head. Plump and soft-looking. She wanted to squish it.

Tilith screamed. "Eek, a monster!"

She quirked an eyebrow. "This is… a monster?" These were the things that were wrecking Grand Gaia so badly that Lucius felt the need to call on some random from another dimension to come help? She stared at it, trying to find the secrets of its devastation. The blob-thing stared back at her with shiny black eyes.

"Yo," it intoned, voice sober. Well, that sealed the deal. She was going to squeeze this stupid thing until it died, and then she was going to cuddle with its ghost until it died again. Was everything in Grand Gaia as disgustingly cute as this little guy and Tilith?

"What are you doing?!" Tilith interrupted as she started bending over to the pick the thing up.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" She was expressing herself. Haters like Tilith needed to calm themselves.

"You're a Summoner, aren't you? Summon your Units and kill it!"

Summon. Units. Yeah, okay, whatever. It was like she was dropped into a fantasy RPG all of a sudden, and instead of receiving a pleasant tutorial, she was being shamed for her lack of knowledge. See if anyone buys this game, Lucius.

"About that. How do I do that again?" And, furthermore. "Why would I want to kill something that's not even attacking me? That seems cruel."

Tilith froze, her eyes wide.

…Perhaps it was too soon to start poking holes in the faulty universe rules.

"You mean, you don't know that much…? Lord Lucius wouldn't send a _complete novice_ to save the land, would he?"

_Girl, your faith is astonishing. Lucius didn't only send a complete novice, he sent a clown as well! _She wanted to exclaim. But she didn't want to explode Tilith's brain, so she tried summoning anyway. She closed her eyes, and tried to picture something taking shape. Something powerful.

It didn't work. Seriously, what the fuck was a Unit? It was one of the most painfully generic words in the world, that's what.

Uh oh, Tilith was looking at her oddly again. _Come on, come on, Units. Come out so we can beat up this adorable creature and keep Tilith sane and cute._

A feeling like _snap_, like a thread being pulled taut, reverberated through her mind. It was alien and hard to describe. A silhouette appeared in the clearing in a flash of white light.

It was… a dude.

Say what, now? He had a mane of wild blond hair, large, scarred hands holding a gargantuan sword. He acknowledged her with solemn eyes, and nodded.

"Summoner." So she actually was a Summoner. She had done it, albeit in the most bull-shitty way ever, but no one had to know that.

"Hi," the Summoner replied, giving a little wave. Tilith relaxed.

"You summoned Warrior Eze? It seems like you have potential, after all."

* * *

><p>The resulting fight could hardly be called a fight. One super-muscled man was no match for a lone Mossy, she learned that it was called. She felt like a complete scumbag as she watched Eze smack the creature with the flat of his sword, its body disintegrating into a white haze. <em>It feels like I'm one of those dudes who runs a dog-fighting ring… not that Eze is a dog, but still. <em>

When the battle was over, he nodded at her again and disappeared. The thread in her mind relaxed, and she relaxed in turn. Through the connection, she could _feel_ Eze inside of her, innuendo be damned. His frustration when he was tackled by the Mossy, the feeling of the ground scraping his palms as he was knocked off his feet, and the ultimate satisfaction at winning the battle. The sensation of being so attuned with another made her uncomfortable, and she welcomed the termination.

Tilith seemed to have accepted the possibility that the Summoner was a newbie. When the haze that used to be the Mossy floated towards her, Tilith remarked, "Sometimes when you defeat monsters, they can choose if they'd like to join you or not as a unit. The stronger you are, the higher chance!"

From what she could parse, did this mean that Eze, who appeared human for all intents and purposes, was the same as the green blob she had just delivered the sickest of smackdowns to? The word "unit" seemed to encompass quite a lot.

The white smokiness dissipated around her and she probably breathed it in. Gross. The Summoner felt another tug as a new thread formed in her mind, and pulled on it. The Mossy appeared in her arms, unharmed.

"Sorry about that, little guy," she whispered, plucking berries from a low bush and offering them to the creature, who devoured them with gusto.

Tilith gave her an odd look. "You don't need to have Units out when you're not fighting."

"I don't mind."

She didn't relent. "The more you use your ability, the more tired you'll be, and you could really stand to treat me with more respect! I'm a goddess, you know-" Cue another rant.

* * *

><p>The land of Grand Gaia was once prosperous, until the Gods decided to destroy humanity. At that point, humans had become powerful, and were capable of fighting back against the gods. The resulting war razed the land and made it uninhabitable, so only monsters could wander the ruins of once-glorious civilizations. Apparently, a group of deities referred to as the Four Fallen Gods have been stirring up trouble, prompting the god of the gate, Lucius, to send his closest advisor Tilith and a powerful summoner on a quest to investigate their activity.<p>

Except for one thing. She wasn't a powerful summoner. She was an average person with average capabilities and aspirations. Who could summon, but that felt more like a lame fluke than destiny. She didn't really know what to say to Tilith. _Sorry, but I'm not the hero you're looking for?_

Tilith also said that summoning in itself was an ability to draw from powers of "ages past," in the form of old heroes. This made her the ghost whisperer, essentially. Spooky.

"I'll explain more to you later. Why don't you take a break?" Tilith suggested, pointing to a rustic-looking gate, ivy twining up its edges. "If you walk through there, you can go home and rest. I'll wait for you here." The goddess's orneriness melted away, and she gave the Summoner a bright smile. "We can't have our hero being tired, after all!"

_Cuuute_. The Summoner resisted the urge to hug Tilith to death (that maybe could be seen as psychotic) and nodded, walking through the gate.

_ Oh, hello darkness, my old friend_. She started walking. And walking. And she walked some more.

It had to have been at least an hour. A feeling of dread welled up in her. What if she was stuck in this place forever? Tilith said that this place would lead her home, but was it really that easy?

Over time, the fear gave way to anger, mostly at Lucius. Stupid talking glitter who couldn't even pick a Summoner from this universe. Her life had been nowhere near as interesting as it was now, but at least it had been shrouded in way less darkness.

When she saw the distant pinprick of light slowly growing closer as she walked, she didn't notice that she had broken out into a run, sick of the constant abyss. It grew into the rectangular shape of a gate opening, and she rushed out-

-straight into a body.

"Sorry," she said as she helped the boy up. She hefted his lance off the ground (which was heavy! How did he carry it without breaking his back?) and handed it back to him, distracted, staring at her surroundings.

This wasn't home.

It was a civilization, which was a step up from monsters and trees. The village emanated quaintness; the scarecrow standing in the middle of a nearby field seemed to scream "I am a quaint and pleasant scarecrow, hello! :)"

But. It. Wasn't. Her. Home. Did Tilith assume that she was from this place? She felt foreign and uncomfortable, like an anomaly that shouldn't exist.

The boy was staring at her. Had he asked something?

"Hey, can you tell me where I am?" she asked faintly.

His look became more wary, like he was staring down live wire and was about to be electrocuted at any second. "You're in the Village of the Venturer in Elgaia."

Gaia. There it was again. Not home.

"Okay, I'm going to do something that might be a little crazy," she told him, looking dead serious into his eyes. They were a pretty shade of blue. "But I'm not crazy. I swear."

Not socially-defunct crazy, anyway. Her brand of insanity was just for fun, but that was beside the point.

She finally let the stress and tiredness overtake her, and started bawling.

* * *

><p>"Alright, so you're not from this world," the boy, whose name she learned was Karl, said. "And you were pulled here by the god Lucius from your… <em>alternate dimension<em>…even though we have plenty of talented summoners here, in order to stop the evil plot of the Four Fallen Gods. And you have a temperamental goddess named Tilith helping you along the way." She nodded, slathering a generous amount of apricot preserve over a thick slab of sweet brown bread.

When she turned on the waterworks, Karl had stood still panicking, trying to calm her down (he had even tried giving her a piggyback ride). A nearby elderly lady had invited them in, so "the young lady could calm down." It was kind of stupid, actually. She had stumbled out of a gate, toppled a native, and started crying. Her behavior suggested that she was an escapee of an insane asylum. If she saw herself in that state, she would have avoided her because she was obviously a _crazy person_. She definitely would not have let her into her house, and fed her food, and maybe people were just _really nice_ in Elgaia and this was culture shock.

"Okay, I know that this doesn't help my case much, but I'm not lying," she said, mouth full of bread. There were nuts baked into it, mmmm. She wondered if there were any chores she could do for the old lady, as thanks for her charity.

"Did you cry because you couldn't get back home?"

Wow. He hit the nail on the head.

"Yeah. I was feeling tired and frustrated, and I had just summoned for the first time. I was overloaded and I guess I just… broke, for a moment." She grinned sheepishly. "Thanks for not leaving me to rot in the street, there."

"Of course. I would never leave someone in trouble like that." He smiled, taking a sip of tea from his cup. And wow, what a smile. Was it the water they drank in this world? Is that why everyone was so good-looking? "And… I believe you. Your story is odd, but I believe you."

…Really. "Why?" she asked. Even she didn't believe that her story was true. In the "real world," she was probably lying in a pool of her own blood, speeding truck long gone, her dying brain coming up with a vivid hallucination in its attempts to stay alive.

His voice was warm. "I can tell by looking into your eyes. You're an honest, good person. If you need my help, I'll watch your back."

What.

What kind of logic was that? What kind of _shounen-anime_-protagonist nonsense was he spewing? Was Karl the crazy one here? Were all Elgaians this ridiculously nice and hot? Despite her incredulity, she felt better knowing she had another human ally, if he wasn't insane.

He was saying something. She should really pay attention, hmm.

"-summoning? Only summoners can walk through those gates, but you don't dress like a summoner from the Akras Summoners' Hall. You look like a civilian," he said. She looked down at her attire: a white Hello Kitty sweatshirt, black leggings, and beat-up aqua sneakers with no socks. Prime quick-run-to-the-convenience-store clothes, not so good for battle.

"It was my first time," she said. "A monster appeared, and I summoned a guy…Eze…or something. It was really weird and uncomfortable. I could feel the weight of his sword in his hands, like I was the one holding it."

Karl laughed. "I understand your discomfort. The first time I summoned a Unit, I wanted to throw up from the feeling. You get used to it, though. It's actually pretty useful because you can communicate nonverbally during battle through your connection, with time."

So Karl was a summoner, too? She noticed his armor and greaves in addition to the large, dangerous-looking lance he carried. He seemed nice and receptive to her insanity.

Hopefully he could answer her questions better than Tilith could.

* * *

><p>"Uh, run that by me again?" She ran her hands across the cold, rocky wall, the cold iron chains attached embedded in them. There was an altar in the front of the room. "Is this a sex dungeon?"<p>

Karl gave her a blank, questioning look_. _She coughed, embarrassed. "Never mind. Ignore me when I ask questions like that, please. But what do you mean by 'powering up'?"

He lit a torch, the only light source in the dank room. "In battle, you can form bonds with existing monsters as Units. I believe that you said the connection felt like strings to you," he explained, leading her to the center of the chamber. There was a circle of five smaller circles, and a sixth one in the middle, inscribed patterns ornate and beautiful.

"You can dissolve these bonds, and this will cause energy to be released. You can use this energy to power up other Units. Certain Units are very well-suited to being used in fusion."

It sounded a lot like chemistry. She nodded in understanding. She pulled on her connection with Mossy, and it appeared in her arms. "So how do I do it?"

He showed her where to put the Mossy, and where to put Eze (it felt weird commanding a fully-grown man around…). For some reason, this process required money, so she obediently threw a few golden coins onto the altar as per Karl's instructions. She lost a Mossy and gained a stronger Eze.

"If you fuse units of the same element together, you'll get more energy for your efforts and money," Karl said as they left the underground shrine. "There's more to it, like Unit types and Burst leveling, but this is all you really need to know for now. I think I have a book about it, from when I was a beginner…"

* * *

><p>She had been too engrossed in the book Karl had given her. Tilith chewed her out thoroughly when she returned to the meadow four hours later, but she had cleared the prairie out with ease, feeling much more well-adjusted than before. Maybe she could get Eze to say more than a single sentence.<p>

Feeling a bit better, she walked through the gate to the Village of the Venturer.

Wait. Where was she going to sleep? She had picked up some zel from the monsters she had defeated (from the people the monsters ate, the book said), but was that enough to afford a night at an inn?

…

Maybe she could bunk with that scarecrow for the night.

"Oh, there you are!" It was Karl again, waving at her from a distance. She waved back.

"Hey, Karl. I have like twenty different slimes now," she said proudly. He beamed and ruffled her hair, somehow conveying warmth through cold steel gauntlets.

"Good for you! You're on the way to being a great summoner," he said. Karl had this ability to make sentences that would be sarcastic in any context sound genuine and sweet. She grinned. "I'll give you a reward for your hard work."

Cue cheesy porn music.

She let him take her hand and followed him to another gate, this one much taller than the one she used for travel between regions. Then, he grabbed her wrist and dropped something into her open palm.

"Is this a wedding ring?" she teased.

It was not a wedding ring. It was a small pile of shiny stones that shimmered in the light. They reminded her of Tilith's hair, actually. She stared, transfixed.

"You put the Gems in the slots here," he said, gesturing to slots near the left side, "and concentrate. You can't choose who exactly you Summon, but the most powerful Units are called from this Gate. Gems are pretty rare, after all."

Rare? Why would Karl give something considered rare to someone who was essentially a stranger? She felt suspicion well up in her, conflicting with the part of her mind that insisted that Karl was probably just really nice.

"Anyways, there's been rumors of a powerful monster in the Morgan region, so the Summoner's Hall has assembled a demon slayer squad, which I'll be fighting in. I won't be back in a while, probably."

She had the impression that there was more to the story – Karl seemed young to be fighting "powerful monsters," much less fighting in a squad. She had trouble picturing the gentle boy in a violent situation at all, actually.

"Congratulations," she said, not sure what else was appropriate. "I'll miss you, though. You're my only friend here other than Tilith."

"Thanks. And don't worry. We'll be fighting on different fields, but we're fighting the same battle. Train hard, so we can bring peace to this world." His eyes crinkled in a smile, gorgeous lapis framed by long lashes, as he gave her what she assumed was a military salute and walked away.

…Wow, he was good. Her heart was fluttering and stuff. He'd make a pretty good leader, with his natural cheesiness and earnestness, she thought.

Joking aside, it would be lonely without him. Karl was the first actually friendly face she had seen here – Tilith didn't count, as she had been scowling at her when she opened her eyes. Now, she actually felt motivated to practice, fueled by friendship rather than empty doomsday talk.

She looked at the gate in front of her, and the sparkling stones in her hands. Like how Karl showed her, she fitted the five gems into the small indentations.

…

Nothing.

She stared blankly. What was she supposed to do now?

_ Hola, gate. Apparently I feed you gems and then you spit out a strong Unit for me. Nothing's happening right now, and it's kind of awkward. So could you be a bro, and-_

In the midst of her humorous monologue, she failed to notice the gate rumbling, first faint, then reaching a crescendo as a bright light (_always light_, she griped. _Fuck you Lucius this was absolutely somehow his fault_) flashed and overtook her vision.

Then, as her sight returned, she felt weight on top of her, one strong hand clutching her wrists above her head and the other holding something sharp to her throat, gently pressing against the soft flesh of her neck and drawing a thin line of blood.

Acid-green eyes peered down at her, glinting with hostility. The bottom half of his face was covered with a black mask, but she could tell that he was scowling.

"Who the fuck are you?"

* * *

><p><strong><em>Tilith <em>is Lucius's adviser and goddess. She's cheerful and kind, but somewhat vain. She gets wrecked in canon _a lot, _and has inconsistent power levels, which I'd like to change.  
><strong>

_**Eze **_**is one of the six heroes who rose up against the gods when they launched their attack on humanity. He is taciturn and rough-around-the-edges, but polite to women.**

_**Karl **_**is a talented young Summoner and head of the 24th Demon slayers division. He is annoyingly good at everything. Canonically, he is childhood friends with the protagonist, but in this story, they meet for the first time at the beginning.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay, I _did_ warn you that this story would be ridiculously self-indulgent.**

* * *

><p>He was not one often summoned by the gate. The gem toll was too high for many summoners, who would only be able to summon a unit of higher caliber once or twice in their entire careers.<p>

The idea of the "rare-summons gate" was somewhat misleading, actually – the process of slotting gems into the gate implied that they were some type of currency that allowed summoners to purchase powerful units. Rather, gems were conduits. They helped a summoner overcome the high power cost required to summon a particularly powerful unit, but all of this power came from within the summoner themselves.

A gem in the hand of a weak summoner was useless. However, there had always been a trend in which more powerful summoners came across more gems, and less powerful ones seldom saw them. Now, this was a case of correlation versus causation – power did not mean that the person was attracted to gems. Rather, the powerful were attracted to dangerous places where gems could be found.

And with gems, a summoner could do amazing things they couldn't do normally. Bring back Units from the cusp of death in an instant, expand their powers, open vortexes to distant dungeons… the possibilities were frightening. But with the most gems in the hands of the most talented, it was very much a rich-become-richer while poor-stay-poorer scenario. Combine this information with the military and economic power the Akras Summoners' Hall held, and the implications were sinister.

Of course, few people wished to hear about that. Most of the summoners who called upon him were immature magpies who had somehow managed to obtain gems, some unscrupulously, demanding to know his burst abilities and attacking power. It was saddening... He almost preferred the summoners who treated him like magically talented oxen – complete this amount of combat in one day, never exchange words. On the other hand, while these summoners were less annoying, they lived longer than the immature ones, which meant he'd be obliged to maintain a bond with them for longer.

When his previous summoner had dissolved their contract for some spare pocket change, he was happy never to see him again. After that, he spent a long while wandering aimlessly through Grand Gaia, enjoying the scenery and meeting with old friends.

He felt the familiar feeling of tendrils of energy reaching out to him, warm and seeking, wrapping around his being as a bond was created against his will.

What kind of sorry excuse for a human would the summoner be this time?

As the shape of a gate opened in the distance, he sighed, walking towards it, boots clacking against the empty abyss that served as a ground.

* * *

><p>She watched the gate with dread, clutching the makeshift shieldpot lid in front of her stomach in case she was stabbed.

What kind of insane Unit would she summon this time? How would he or she try to kill her? Moreover, why did she keep coming back to the gate like an abused spouse?

Einstein once said something about insanity being "doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."

Was she insane?

…Well, it wasn't anything new if the answer was "yes."

* * *

><p>The first thing that had surprised him as he exited the gate was the feeling of a surge of <em>power. <em>Even though the gems provided ample power for summoning, the Akras Summoners' Hall taught its trainees how to clamp down on a Unit's power outside of battle, effectively declawing them. The humiliating sensation was not present as he walked through the threshold, cool night air and the sound of cicadas assaulting his senses.

The second thing that had surprised him was the one who presumably summoned him.

She was dressed like an imbecile, for one, so maybe she was one of _those _summoners. She wore simple clothes, a thin white sweater over black tight pants, and ragged shoes that looked to be on their last legs. What looked to be a pot was placed over her head, while she clutched its lid to her stomach like a lifeline. Her eyes were screwed tight, as if she was dreading some incoming impact.

They stood there, only the sound of bugs audible. Then, she slowly opened one eye.

Her back straightened.

"Yo," she said, extending a cautious arm. "I'm your Summoner. Who are you?"

He took her hand, and she flinched. Interesting. "My name is Zephyr." They shook hands, and she withdrew hers, staring at him with weary eyes.

Another awkward pause. Then, her face broke out into an ear-splitting grin, and she threw her head backwards, jubilant.

"YES! Someone who hasn't tried killing me!"

A light flicking on in a house in the distance, and: "Shut the hell up, brat! Some of us have to work in the morning!"

She muttered, "Oh shoot," and gave a nervous laugh.

"Okay, you haven't tried disemboweling me yet, which makes you the best out of the three goes I've had at that stupid cursed gate," she said, flicking her head towards a sacred monument of power and ritual.

Most summoners learned to drain the power out of their Units when they are brought into Elgaia, to prevent them from going on a rampage. But she hadn't, he thought, brain working rapid-fire to interpret everything he had seen so far. Was this a conscious decision on her part (overconfidence, perhaps) or had she never learned? She seemed like a novice judging by her clothing and childish demeanor, but fifteen gems used for three summons was hardly trivial.

"We can talk at home," she said, walking ahead of him. He noted the ease with which she showed her back to him. A novice, then.

He rarely spoke to summoners unless prompted (his explanations were tended to be shot down), but she seemed to have accepted it without rebuff, and his curiosity prompted him to ask: "May I ask how long you have been a summoner for?"

She turned her head, and over her shoulder, said, "Um, two days? More like one and a half."

If Zephyr was a less composed and agile man, the surprise would have caused him to trip over the large tree root sticking out of the ground. The Summoner hadn't fared as well, scraping her forehead on the dirt and letting out a slew of profanity.

…Fifteen stones in less than two days. It seemed infeasible. Was she lying?

If not, he wasn't sure how to feel about so much potential for power being hidden in someone who didn't seem particularly intelligent.

* * *

><p>Zephyr hadn't tried to murder her on sight, so he was her favorite after Eze. He also hadn't said a word since she told him that she had been summoning for two days, though. Was he judging her, or something?<p>

He was quiet and broody, and seemed like the judgmental type. With an outfit consisting of a lot of tight black leather and buckles, he looked like he belonged in a punk-rock band more than on the front lines of an army. His hair was pretty sweet, though – how did he get it like that? She had to ask him once he accepted the fact that they were best friends. The moment he stepped out of the gate, his harsh cobalt eyes had been alert, taking in as much information as possible before _not _attacking her.

It had been suspiciously easy. Maybe he was planning to kill her when she wasn't expecting it. She'd prefer an up-front murder attempt, she thought, wincing as she recalled her previous two summonings at the gate. She slowed for a moment, so that she could walk in step with him.

"Zephyr?" The name sounded familiar, she thought. Perhaps she had read it in passing in a history book?

"…Yes?" came the tentative reply.

"Why aren't you trying to kill me?" There, she had voiced it as delicately as possible. Hey, subtlety was not one of her strong points.

His eyes narrowed.

"…"

Well then. Had she accidentally said something offensive?

Moron, moron! She had to get better acquainted with the social norms and customs; she made a crown of peonies for Tilith earlier and apparently that was the equivalent of an antiquated marriage proposal. A stuttering, blushing apology followed, and it was awkward and terrible.

She would have kept berating herself for her natural mediocrity, but Zephyr decided to grace her question with a response: "Most summoners know to siphon power from a Unit they have summoned in Elgaia, to prevent the less stable individuals from wreaking havoc or hurting innocents." His voice was soft but authoritative, like someone who was completely confident in his capabilities. Like he _knew _that what he said was worth listening to, and anyone intelligent would also know.

Interesting.

"As I walked from the gate from Grand Gaia to Elgaia, I noticed that you hadn't put any limitations on my power. I suspect that whoever else you summoned was surprised by this, and the surge of power along with the perilous circumstances caused them to attack the first person they saw. You."

She hmmed. "What circumstances are you referring to?"

"The act of being summoned," he said as if it was obvious.

This implied two things: either the act of summoning was a physically stressful experience for a Unit (she cringed with guilt at the possibility), or Units had a reason to be on their guard while being summoned.

There was still a lot to this world that she didn't understand. She wished she still had reception on her phone, with a working charger and outlet. It died last night. She cried a little.

Of course, their conversation implied something much more important on a whole.

Zephyr was a pretty smart guy. A nerd, if you will. And he seemed comfortable with answering her questions.

This was going much better than her first two summons.

* * *

><p><em>Two days ago<em>

* * *

><p>"And in conclusion, you're the only man I can trust in this world, Eze," she said tearfully, leaning against his back. Maybe Karl too, but he was way too nice to be real, so he was probably a serial killer.<p>

They had just cleared all of the Cave of Flames and the Adventurer's Prairie, and had two goblins and a multitude of slimes for their troubles. It was harder than anticipated – she lost a good inch of hair due to a stray fire attack from a Burny, who was a complete sweetheart and apologized for it. She felt somewhat vindicated when it joined her after Eze destroyed it.

Anyways, Eze and his dream team of slimes (they were _so_ _cute_. She squealed a little on the inside when they swarmed him for a group hug after defeating a difficult enemy) dispatched the enemies with relative ease, until they reached the final foe of the cave.

He was a boy about her age, with bulging muscles and dark, scarred skin that suggested a lifetime of hardship. He wore filthy, tattered red pants and his onyx eyes gleamed with an animalistic intelligence.

She hadn't noticed this. What she did notice, however, was the two foot long, razor sharp _claws _coming out of his clenched fists. What the hell.

The ensuing fight was bloody. The slime quartet had been decimated. Her small supply of cures was barely enough to sustain Eze as he felled the feral boy. Guilt surged up and tugged at her insides as she watched Eze pick himself up, crimson ribbons raked across his arms and abdomen.

Why hadn't she brought more cures? She threw her arms around him, despite both being sweaty and disgusting after the hours they spent in the muggy cave.

"I'm so sorry-" she gushed, not noticing how he stiffened in her grip. "This is my fault. I absolutely suck and now you're hurt I'm so _sorry _I could have done something to make it safer for you but I didn't! Sorry sorry sorry-"

She would have started crying again (the second time in what, four hours? Good job, Summoner!), if Eze hadn't gingerly placed a hand on her head and patted her. "What do you mean?" he asked. Somehow, he had guided her into a sitting position, and carefully placed himself next to her, mindful to hide the wince that crossed his face for a brief moment as he felt the sting of his injuries.

But she noticed. Lucius, she would have to bake him the biggest apology cake ever.

* * *

><p>"W-well, after that first battle we had, Karl gave me gems. He said I could summon a really rare Unit with them," she began.<p>

Eze nodded, prompting her to go on. After forming a contract with his Summoner, he had been surprised to discover how open her mind was. That is, she allowed him free entry into her consciousness, and as a result, he learned that she was alien to Grand Gaia, and had little to nothing in combat experience.

He refused to underestimate her, though. He recalled a pair of young women from another world who were a terrifying force to behold during the war with the Gods. He was sure that this girl, handpicked by Lucius, had the potential to grow into something otherworldly.

What threw him off was how _touchy_ she was. His Summoner was always quick to physical contact and bawdy humor, acting more like an enthusiastic schoolchild than the commander she should be. Sitting here, next to her as she spoke with uncharacteristic solemnness made him _uncomfortable._

But at least that had been better than when she tried hugging him. He started at that, pain jolting through his body at the sudden movement.

Vargas had always teased him for his aversion to physical contact and awkwardness around women. Eze wondered what his old comrade would have to say about this situation, and then he decided that he was glad the fiery swordsman wasn't present.

Somewhere between the one-liners and the profanity, he had grown – dare he say it – fond of the otherworldly girl and her strange mind. If he was going to have to fight for her, perhaps forging a friendship wouldn't be too horrible.

She continued. "I put the gems in the gate, and I waited for a second, but nothing happened. And then…"

* * *

><p>"Who the fuck are you?" the man pinning her down inquired, voice soft and smooth like velvet, threat and danger entwined with mystique. She cringed, neck edging away from the sharp edge of his blade, which prompted him to press it against her throat harder.<p>

"Y-you know, it's kind of hard to talk when my throat is in danger of being ripped apart if I move my head slightly to the left," she said, immediately regretting it. Bad brain, letting her mouth off its leash. She had no idea who this person was, and if he would kill her for being rude.

He fixed her a _look_ with his poison-colored eyes. Then she felt something _shuffling _in her head, a decidedly gross feeling, and then the weight on top of her disappeared. She was hefted like a sack of produce to her feet, and a gloved hand lifted her chin upwards.

Wow, weird assaulter Unit was _tall. _He was built to stand out – he stood at least six feet high, harsh green eyes clashing with messy fuchsia hair. His outfit seemed ninja themed, but also looked borderline-gaudy, with a tattered scarlet cape and metallic armor. His choice in wardrobe also revealed his abs, which she decided were _quite nice. _

He followed her gaze down to his stomach, she just knew that he was smirking. She flushed against her will. A part of her was screaming that this was cliché and lame and maybe, just maybe being attracted to this guy was a _horrible _idea.

"Really," he muttered, swiping his thumb across her chin absentmindedly, "I can't believe they let someone like _you _be a summoner. That you managed to call upon me is laughable." He shoved her, and she fell on her bottom with an _oof_. Oh hello there, grass stains. She scowled at him.

"My name is Kuda," he said, walking circles around her like a cat circling an injured bird. "I specialize in assassination. I will fight for you, but I expect to be _paid _for my services."

Gosh, the innuendo was _begging _to be remarked upon, but even her stupid brain recognized that this wasn't the best situation to be joking in. Kuda seemed to be making the suggestions consciously, too.

…Hmmm. She had come across a worthy adversary, it appeared.

"What's your price then?" she asked, deciding to play his game.

"If you have to ask the price, then you can't afford it," he all but sang.

"Well then." This was odd. Was he flirting? Which psychopath threatens a girl's life, insults her, and then flirts with her? "It seems like we are in a quandary, Kuda." She placed her hands in the soft grass, leaning back a little. It was time to resort to the strategy she used back home when weirdoes tried hitting on her: put on the Distant Icy Bitch façade.

"Indeed, Summoner." Then he was right behind her in a burst of sudden speed, cape fluttering with the effort. He bent over, and all she could see was his tanned face. His finger stroked her collarbone lightly, the feeling tickling and uncomfortably intimate. Now, he was in her personal bubble, and that was not okay. She opened her mouth to complain, but he interrupted her. "From you, though, I might accept an alternate form of payment-"

Oh. He kissed her. Her first thought was that his lips were soft, and maybe it was because they were protected by the mask, and the second thought was that wow, this was an upside-down kiss, the kind that only happened in sappy romantic movies. The third thought was _what. What. What what what what what okay he's not a bad kisser but nonetheless what-_

She had forgotten how to breathe, and sucked in sweet oxygen when they separated, face bright red. Through half-lidded eyes, he stared her down for a few still seconds.

"…I'm joking, of course." He stood up, holding a small black case. Upon closer inspection, it was her wallet. "If you call on me without proper payment next time, I'll help the monsters kill you." Then he was gone.

…

She let herself fall backwards on the grass, too drained to support herself.

* * *

><p>"Men are scum," the Summoner moaned, burying her face in her arms. "Except for you. You're alright, Eze. You won't do things like sexually assault me or mug me, right?"<p>

Obviously not? "…No," he said, reeling at her story.

Kuda. Eze was familiar with the name. He was the assassin tasked with defeating Atro during the war. For some reason, he had failed the task despite boasting a flawless mission record. Afterwards, there was speculation that the mercenary had been playing double agent for the humans, but stories were inconsistent. However, amongst all the noise and hearsay, Eze had never read a single account of Kuda being a lecher.

"…I've heard of Kuda before. He has a reputation," he said.

The Summoner looked up. "As being the worst person to ever walk the earth?"

"As a master assassin," he corrected, ignoring her mutter of _yeah, he did mention that, _"and someone who was extremely temperamental. How much do you know about the legend of the Six Heroes?"

He already knew that she had zero knowledge on the topic, but he thought that telling her his backstory would make her feel better.

"Nothing," she replied.

"You know about that the Gods decided to destroy humanity. In an effort to fight back, six people rose up to defend their homes. Vargas, the Holy Flame. Lance, the Holy Earth. Selena, the Holy Ice. Atro, the Holy Light. Magress, the Unholy. And myself, the Holy Thunder.

"We had different backgrounds, but through battle and blood, we all became friends. Over time, we trained and became so powerful that even the Gods feared us. As a result, the gods trained officers to fight us. Kuda was assigned to kill Atro.

"So he was a human on the side that aimed to destroy humans?" she remarked dryly.

"Kuda was famous for his greed. He would do anything, regardless of morals or difficulty, as long as his employer could pay the price." She nodded, expression contemplative.

"More importantly. You're a _legendary hero_?" she gushed, eyes admiring. "Holy Thunder? That sounds incredible…"

Compliments were rare. Most of the people he interacted with were on his level in strength, and had bad attitudes to boot. That princess Emilia, for one… if there hadn't been a bloody war going on, he would have liked to clash swords with her at least once.

"Thanks!" he said, scratching his cheek. "I'm not currently at my highest power level, though. You summoned me in a pretty basic form."

Her face dropped, and she curled up in the fetal position, air gloomy around her. It was impressive how quickly she could switch moods. "Sorry," she muttered, rocking back and forth. "I'm kind of worthless as a summoner, aren't I? I might as well go scrub windows or something…" She trailed off, muttering something about something called "fast food" and kings.

He frowned. "You're very harsh on yourself. It's only been a few hours. Naturally, I expect myself to become stronger than ever with your power. But expecting so much from a newcomer is unreasonable. A weak fool takes on more than they are capable of." He learned as much back when he worked in the Atharvan Mines. He remembered almost dying as a child, when he insisted that he could carry more carts of ore than anyone, causing a collapse in a rubble pile. The miner who had saved him had shattered his foot for his troubles, and was unable to work for the rest of his life.

After that, Eze vowed to temper his training and not let his ego endanger anyone, be it himself or the people around him. And he wouldn't let this little girl ruin herself because of the expectations Lucius and his disciple placed on her. His friends had become great through their desire to help the weak, not because some higher power commanded them to. He probably would have beaten the crap out of anyone who told him what to do, back then.

The Summoner gave a little laugh. "You're harsh, Eze, wow. But super on point. You're like Dumbledore, except badass, and not evil."

He didn't know who Dumbledore was, but at least her mood had improved. And now he didn't know what to say. How awkward.

Luckily, the Summoner broke the silence by jumping to her feet. "Okay! I'll take over the world slowly and in moderation! I'll beat Maxwell to it!" She then laughed loudly and obnoxiously. "Thanks, man. Being too negative doesn't help anyone. I guess I forgot, since you know, new world and all."

She hugged him again. He hoped that this wouldn't be a permanent thing.

* * *

><p>"Hi, Tilith!" She made sure to greet the goddess with a smile as she exited the outer lip of the cave, rather than with the bland and distant personality that Tilith probably assumed she had. It was a warm day, but the sun felt <em>cool <em>on her face compared to how the volcanic cavern had been.

"Good job on making it through the cave! Up next is the Egor Snowfield," Tilith replied, breeze making her clothes sway.

"Alright," the Summoner said, determined look flashing across her face. "I'm sorry for being such a downer, by the way. I'll try to be better, even though I'm such a noob. Also, you're really really cute and have great hair," she finished lamely.

Tilith looked surprised, and a pink blush spread across her cheeks, probably at the compliment. "Hehe, of course! I _am _a goddess, after all! You better work hard to be worthy of me."

"A-anyways, the monsters will be getting tougher now, so you ought to be more mindful of the Units you use," she said, leading the Summoner to the gate that led out of the area. "You have to think about type advantages. Most of the monsters coming up are water type, so pop quiz~" she said, voice chipper. "Which type is strong against water?"

_Pokemon_ rules dictated leaf or lightning. The more obvious answer was lightning, since the whole conductivity thing. Public school education, hooray!

"Correct!" Tilith beamed when she answered.

The Summoner grinned. Tilith was so cute.

* * *

><p>Heavens, it was cold. A frigid blast of air hit her face and her thinly-clothed body, snow falling in languid flakes.<p>

"_It's freezing!" _Tilith wailed, hugging her arms to her body. "And to think, we still have the marsh, and the ruins and the abandoned manor to reach the Tower of Mistral…"

She patted Tilith on the back, ignoring the jolt of pain that shot up her arm as it made contact with the frozen air. There, there.

"I can't take it anymore!" she groaned. "I'm gonna go home… there's a knight at the end of the field who's been summoned by Maxwell. Apparently, he's quite strong, so watch out… _achoo!" _She made a miserable noise. "Good luck," she mumbled, disappearing in a flash of light.

Then the Summoner was alone in a field. She considered Eze's condition – she noticed that a Unit's wounds regenerated quickly outside of battle, but she wondered if he was too tired to go on. He'd probably refuse to admit it if he was, either way. She also considered her ragged hoodie, and her numb face, and decided to take a break.

* * *

><p>She walked back to Elgaia, relieved to be out of the cold. Hopefully, she could find some lunch and maybe do some reading on the lore of this universe. Did the Village of the Venturer have a library? Maybe she could bully Karl into lending her some books…<p>

Oh wait, he was dispatched into the battlefield. Sad face.

"Oh, miss!" a voice called for her. At least, she hoped it was for her. It was always awkward when you think someone is speaking to you and it turns out they were speaking to the person next to you.

It was the kind elderly lady from before, who was kind enough to offer her food before. She had a basket of herbs balanced on her hip, reaching into her skirts for something. "Before Karl left, he asked me to give you this." She pulled a silver key out of her pocket. "It's a key to his house. He said that if you didn't have a place to stay, you were welcome to stay in his house."

Oh, Karl. Was Karl even real? He was the fairy godmother she had always dreamed of – she was Cinderella, lacking in knowledge and house, and he appeared and solved all her problems with a wave of his lance.

"Thank you!" she exclaimed brightly, taking the key in her hands like it was something precious.

"Karl is such a nice young man. I'm happy to see that he's found someone who he can share his life with," the lady said fondly.

Well. Did she think…?

"We're not like that. We're just," don't say just friends, don't say just friends, don't say just friends, "buddies."

Oh, good job. The elderly woman gave her a knowing look, at which she smiled nervously at and avoided eye contact. She gave some excuse about having to leave, and bid the kind lady farewell.

Whatever. She probably thought that the Summoner was going to go bone Karl or something, ugh. He was away defending his country, for Pete's sake!

…Now that she thought about it, she had no clue which house was Karl's. But she would rather wither on the street than ask for directions and have to deal with some middle aged person giggling about how "cute" the youth were.

Eventually, she settled at a small restaurant and ordered a sandwich and soup, deciding to continue her aimless wandering after food. Then, she could look for an information source, and… then what? She wanted to clear the Snowfield sometime today, but she also wanted to give herself and Eze (and the slimes too) some time to recuperate after their harrowing journey through the Cave of Flames.

It really would have been easier if Kuda (she winced at the thought of him) wasn't so… _Kuda, _and if she didn't feel so uneasy in his presence. Based on what Eze told her about him, he was quite powerful, and would have been very helpful in their battles. Then, maybe Eze wouldn't have gotten so hurt.

At the same time, she wondered _why _a human would have fought on the side of the Gods in the Gods vs. Humans showmatch of the century. It seemed ridiculously counterintuitive.

Maybe she'd be better off with another try at the rare-summons gate, unless power was inversely related to insanity and she was doomed. Eze had been really nice to her when he didn't have to be, though, so she would try for his sake. In her time exploring the Adventurer's Prairie and the Cave of Flames, she gathered another five stones. Karl must have been unlucky or something, because they certainly were not rare. She had found one in an apple she had bitten into, even.

She took the final bite of her ham sandwich, wiping the crumbs from the corner of her mouth with a white linen napkin. The prices here were ridiculous, by the way, and not in the way she had expected. Her lunch cost 70 zel. To compare, she had gathered about 10,000 zel in her few hours of adventuring. It didn't make any sense.

But that was for another time. For now, she had a date with a certain summoning apparatus.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Zephyr <em>is one of the 12 Guardians of the Gods, the second-in-command after Sodis. He is level-headed, logical, and intelligent, almost caustically so.**

**_Kuda_ is a famous assassin who boasted a perfect success record. He served the Gods during the war, but it was speculated that he served as a double agent for the human side. A free spirit.**

* * *

><p><strong>Oops, I love anachronism. If it was confusing, this chapter started out with her summoning Zephyr, who was her third summon from the rare gate, flashed back to her first summon, Kuda, and ended with her about to go for her second summon. Who do you think it will be?<strong>

**Today, I finally ranked up in BF to where I could have another 6* unit on my team, and I evolved Kuda. Honestly, the lines that he says when you evolve/level him are so suggestive that it's hard _not_ characterizing him as a massive pervert.**

**Anyways, aside from the shameless fanservice, I've tried incorporating a few things about the universe, namely the summoner/unit dynamic and the lore of some characters.**

**Another question: do you like reading the perspective of other characters? Would you prefer it be limited to the Summoner? **

**Thanks for reading. If you have questions, please leave a signed review or a PM and I'll get back to you asap.**

**-eris**


	3. Chapter 3

"Holy crap!" Flashbacks from the Cave of Flame resurfaced as some huge, scary-looking thing that was _on fire_ hurtled towards her at extreme velocity. She threw herself to the ground to avoid a massive, sweeping blade cleaving the air where her neck had been a second ago.

The giant axe's wielder, a petite girl with thick blonde hair pulled back into ringlets scowled at her, eyes as red as the fire that permeated the sharp edge of her weapon.

"That was pathetic!" the girl sneered, grinding the heel of her foot into the Summoner's spine after the Summoner had not bothered to get up after her life-saving dodge.

Ow ow ow ow. The little demon's boots were plated with steel and dug through her thin hoodie. It felt like a knife was being driven into her back. All she could do was yelp and flail about in agony like a tortured fish, unable to escape the monster's grasp.

"You're the weakling who summoned me? I'd rather die than be commanded by someone like you!" she tsked, sheathing her axes behind her back. "I don't even need a weapon to handle you."

"H-hey, I'm not pathetic," the Summoner countered, shaking under the Unit's weight, "I've got _heart_, and stuff."

…okay, she _was_ pretty pathetic.

The girl scoffed. "Lucky for you, I'm pretty generous." She removed her weight off the Summoner's back, and hauled her to her feet with a force that rattled the non-crazy girl's bones. "I'll give you one chance. If you screw up, I'm gone!"

Her eyes were red and narrowed in irritation and _terrifying. _The Summoner nodded.

"Yes, ma'am."

The girl disappeared, leaving behind the smell of smoke, a new mental bond in the Summoner's mind, and some painful bruises on her back.

…What was her name, even?

* * *

><p><em>I figured that you wouldn't have a place to stay, being from a different world and all. Feel free to use anything you like while I'm not there. I trust that you'll treat my belongings with respect. You can use my bed too, if you want to. <em>–_Karl_

And yet again, let Karl be praised, give thanks to Karl, for he is good. She eventually found his house because of a letter, her name boldly printed on the envelope in narrow, slanted handwriting and clearly visible as it hung from the door. So obvious that even someone as thick as her couldn't miss it.

The house was small, but suited for one person. The front door opened into a sitting area that merged into the kitchenette, which had doors leading to a bedroom, the bathroom, and the backyard. Everything, from the wooden furniture to the knives sitting on a block on the counter, gave an impression of being used and old, but very well-cared for.

The Summoner peered into his bedroom, a feeling of guilt rising up in her. There was a shelf crammed with books, a single window above a desk, a closet, and a bed neatly made with deep emerald blankets. Strewn across the room was a multitude of potted plants and what she assumed were weapon parts.

The bookshelf was an item of interest, definitely. She had played plenty of video games before – knowing universe lore and rules would come in pretty damn handy. It wouldn't do to accidentally offend a princess and end up thrown in a dungeon.

If this world even had monarchies. Heck, she didn't even know if the acceleration of gravity was the same as Earth's.

Another glance at the bed, and the guilt intensified. She decided _not _to use Karl's bed for the night, because that felt oddly like tarnishing a pure maiden's virtue. Or something. Even though it looked soft and lovely and probably smelled nice-

See, that's why she didn't deserve to use the bed. She walked over to the shelf, examining the titles. They were sorted by subject, the top row pertaining to combat strategies and weapon maintenance, the second row to horticulture, and the third to reference materials and atlases and the like.

Bingo.

She pulled out _A Geographic Guide to the Realms, The Akras Summoners' Hall Unit Compendium, _and _A History of the War With Gods. _

The _Geographic Guide _was a series of maps of Elgaia and Grand Gaia, with descriptions of climate conditions and photographs. She couldn't find much of it interesting or relevant to her, since she wasn't well-acquainted with the names of other countries.

What she did notice, however, was how small Mistral was in comparison to the rest of Grand Gaia. She could fit her thumb over the region.

_Mistral is an island split into three subregions: Mistral, Morgan, and St. Lamia. It was the first island indexed by the Akras Summoner's Hall after re-entry into Grand Gaia. The climate is largely mild outside of the Egor Snowfield in Mistral and the volcanic areas (see Figure 2.4). _

The rest of the chapter went into more depth about each of the three regions, as well as brief histories ("_The Breeze Beach has been proposed as a possible tourist location, but the spread of monsters has prevented further development of the area."_). She laid it aside, and picked up the _Unit Compendium. _It weighed about a billion pages, the spine extra-thick and sturdy to accommodate the volume's massive weight. On the first page, in bright red ink, was printed:

_The following is property of the Akras Summoner's Hall. Unauthorized distribution of the information inside will be penalized harshly, and may result in imprisonment._

Well, that was pretty ominous. Perhaps this foray into the realm of forbidden knowledge would be the first step off the edge of a slippery slope, and she would become Voldemort, or something. Or maybe following unenforceable rules was for nerds.

She cracked the book open.

Units were sorted by name. Each profile had a sketch of said unit, and a ridiculously comprehensive analysis of the units' qualities. This was pretty unhelpful to her, because she had no idea what a 900 Attack or 600 Recovery stat was in reference to.

She still had a huge amount to learn, huh. She probably had less knowledge than a kindergartener raised in this world. At least she was grateful that this world used English speaking and writing systems. Having to overcome a language barrier would have been a true nightmare. It probably would have been hilarious, though.

She flipped through the book, settling on Eze and Kuda's chapters.

_A warrior from the ruined Atharva Republic, he later became one of the Six Heroes. Raised in an old mine, he worked from the time he was a child. At one point he grew tired and left to become a demon bounty hunter. His swordsmanship was tempered through his mine work, and he could obliterate a normal demon in one blow. He spoke rough, but was polite to women._

…Huh. Her friend also seemed to have some kind of historic vague relationship with a Princess Emilia. A kind of crass guy with a stern princess made for a good romance story, she thought. She tucked the name Emilia away in her head for further research, and just so she could tease the guy later.

With trepidation, she flipped over to Kuda's chapter.

The sketch of him was not as detailed as Eze's had been, but the artist's rendition of him was accurate. The serpentine, deceptively relaxed posture and fierce gaze was pretty spot-on. The writing about him was also rather sparse, and was a summary of what Eze had told her.

_An assassin rumored to take on any job as long as the reward was worth it. Though he demanded exorbitant amounts of money for his services, he was known to carry out his missions without fail, and was thus considered a very valuable asset. No one could match Kuda's assassin skills, which came to life through his whip-like sword. Kuda's name and prowess were so renowned that describing him as a mere "assassin" would not do them justice. However, since no one who saw his face ever survived to tell the tale, this information is all mere speculation._

Exorbitant amounts of money. Services…ugh. Remembering their first and only meeting made her want to roll up into a ball.

But honestly, if he was as good as his reputation proclaimed, he'd make her quest a lot easier. Logic stated that since he seemed content on his own, she would have to be the one to extend the olive branch. Even if the thought of interacting with him made her insides crawl…

Self-respect, or survival?

…She knew the answer to that.

* * *

><p>"It hasn't even been a day yet. Are you that eager for more?" Kuda asked, surveying the room he had been summoned into as he leaned against his doorframe. It couldn't have belonged to her. The scent on the bed didn't match with hers, nor did the size of the clothing he could see hanging through the gap of the partially-closed closet. A male, in his late teens or early twenties. Independent and responsible. Good cook.<p>

He was rarely summoned outside of combat situations, no less by someone whom he had scared. He was already intrigued.

"If by more, you mean more unwarranted physical contact, the answer is a," she gulped, and he watched her slim throat flex with the action, "definite no. If by more, you mean more professional diplomacy, of which there was none before, that'd be pretty cool."

Kuda unfolded his arms and stood straight, about to reply. Her hands immediately flew to her mouth, eyes screwed shut. A single eye cautiously opened.

"Sorry," she said, flushing as she removed her hands from her mouth. "That was rude, but not really, given your track record."

Heh. She was like a paranoid rabbit. How cute.

"You're sending rather mixed messages," he said. He'd mess with her for a bit. "Summoning me in a room with a bed," he gestured to the bed, ignoring her hiss that sounded like _that is a holy place how dare you_, "in a way that blocks the only viable exit." He gave the doorframe an audible tap.

Her eyes widened as she assessed her situation, and her poor decision. It was so very civilian of her.

"The window," she protested.

"Is too narrow for your shoulders to fit through," he rebutted. She slumped in defeat.

"Well-played," she said, voice simmering with resentment. "But really, please! Can we have a conversation, just one, where I don't have to be afraid of being assaulted or killed?"

Kuda was not one for handouts or mercy. The strong didn't become strong by giving away what they had, after all. This situation was no different. On the other hand, he did realize that turning down her request would stop progression, and she would likely refuse to summon him again.

And she was quite fun, compared to the stuffy summoners who tried to order him around like he _wasn't _the most famed assassin in all of history.

Kuda was not against compromise. He had his fun, and she could have her talk. So he sat down across from her on the floor, legs crossed.

"Alright," he said.

* * *

><p>Okay, she had <em>not <em>expected him to agree so easily.

It was surreal. Kuda was still tall as sin, even when he folded up his stupid-long stilt legs and sat down facing her. She still had to look up to make eye contact. How irritating.

Admittedly, now that she had his attention, she had no idea what to say. This was bad.

Kuda's eyes looked back at hers, nonchalant and expectant. Then, they flicked towards her lap.

Towards the compendium, open to his entry. Before she could react, the volume was in his grasp, easily balanced in a single hand.

Seriously, that thing had the weight of a small child. It was impressive.

"'Loyal Assassin'?" he snorted. "What garbage."

There was always something embarrassing about someone finding out that you were researching them. Not that she knew from prior experience, or anything. "Uh..."

"The artist is pretty talented, though," he said. Then, with two fingers, he ripped his entry out of the book.

Wha…

"H-hey!" she shouted, grabbing the book back from him, stumbling under its weight. "What was that for?"

He folded the pages and stored them in his cloak, nonplussed. "I don't like that those summoners have data on me, much less such a poorly-written one."

"What kind of logic is that? These things are mass produced, probably. And it's not mine, either…" she groaned, slumping sideways. "I'm so sorry, Karl…" After he trusted her, too. She was truly the worst of the worst. She couldn't even get a replacement copy, since she wasn't a part of the Akras Summoner's Army.

Kuda's face was apathetic, and she hated him for it. "Your boyfriend?"

"My girlfriend." He quirked an eyebrow. "No, he's a friend. And you've wrecked his book. Why do you care?"

"Curiosity does not equate to caring," he said, leaning backwards on his hands. She wondered how many people those hands had killed.

"Look," she said, "you can't just do that. I get that you're this _almighty powerful _assassin, but if you do stuff like this, I just can't look at you as an equal."

Wow, those were some strong-sounding words. Stronger than she actually was.

Kuda's eyes narrowed. "You're saying boring things. Do you have a point?" She took a breath, trying to temper her anger. It wouldn't do to alienate him before negotiations even started.

"Yeah, I do. Like I said, you're really powerful, and I have a quest. You could help me, but I don't have anything that you would want. I don't even know why some Units help summoners without any incentive-"

"There isn't any."

His expression was inscrutable.

"Most of us aren't given the choice. The power Lucius gave you… he didn't ask any one of _us _if we wanted to be summoned before blessing humanity with the ability," he said, voice sardonic.

Oh. That was kind of… horrifying and dystopian.

"It'd be child's play for you to force me to do your bidding." It was a reluctant admission. His posture was relaxed, but his left hand toyed with the edge of a knife (which she hadn't spotted before?!).

Kuda seemed like a cat. Temperamental and violent. Maybe he enjoyed occasional tenderness, but never liked being called out on it.

Hated being chained down, more than anything.

"Well, that doesn't sound like a professional agreement at all," she said, willing her stupid mouth and brain not to say anything stupid or awkward. She had this horrible habit of making bad puns and inappropriate quips at bad times, and she knew this was the worst time. "That sounds an awful lot like slavery."

He made a sound that was vaguely agreeing and deceptively nonchalant. She knew better.

Ugh, this was getting unexpectedly complicated. She hadn't signed up for Real Talk when she had agreed to Lucius's proposition! The fact that it was with Kuda made it a thousand times worst. She thought she'd have a silly, wacky adventure with magic and then get transported back home. It'd be like one of those cheesy movies where she'd think it was all a dream until she found a symbolic object that suggested otherwise.

But it was to be expected that an actual _war_ would give rise to lots of screwed up stuff that would affect society in subtle ways. Pink was associated with femininity because of Hitler, and all that.

She wanted to handle this maturely and properly. Kuda was the type who _detested _pity or dishonesty, so she had to be honest and cool.

"I don't want to force you, or anyone to 'do my bidding,'" she said, hesitant. "I want to _ask _you for help, because it'd be nice to have. I'm not looking for brownie points or anything because I'm _asking _you instead of _telling _you, but because that seems like the right, not-scumbag thing to do. Friendship and stuff sounds pretty cheesy, but I _do _think a positive relationship when you're supposed to be watching each others' backs is pretty-" Lucius save them all, she was babbling now.

"You can stop talking now," Kuda sighed, running a hand through his hair. The serious atmosphere left as suddenly as it came, and she nodded, closing her mouth.

"So how much do you charge for your services? Aside from surprise kisses." No, she was never going to let that go.

"Depends on the target, really. And how much I like the client." Wow, he was pretty forthcoming. Did that mean that she passed his test? Was this the start of a beautiful friendship? Or was this a reverse play where he would kill her with kindness? Like how some female insects killed their mates after intercourse! Kuda, you monster.

Brain, stop thinking. Okay, good. Now come up with a reply, brain.

"Since you like me a lot, it won't be that bad, right?" she asked hopefully.

He quirked an eyebrow and tilted his head, smirking. She groaned.

* * *

><p>He hadn't meant to reveal that much to her. It irritated him, that he could still slip up despite his expertise.<p>

She was simply such an aberration, an outlier from the norm. Her manner of speaking, as well as her appearance and the way any emotion that flowed through her displayed transparently on her face marked her as a _foreigner. _Unbiased and unmarred by his corrupted world. As a result, she was very easy to talk to. Unintentionally, he had loaded some of his resentment onto her.

The girl's reaction was acceptable, and he had already decided to allow her use of him in combat.

"Money doesn't mean much to me anymore," Kuda said. "I prefer valuable items. Though, there is something that only you could offer me that I'd like a lot." The phrasing was provocative and deliberate, and he was pleased to see her splutter and flail her arms around foolishly.

"…You're a jerk," she said, pouting.

"I didn't intend it that way, but the fact that you interpreted it like that means something about _you, _doesn't it?" She made this too easy. "Unfortunately, I don't offer _that_ kind of service."

Her face was bright red now. Her grief calmed his soul.

"Back to business. As a summoner, you have the ability to power up units." She nodded, showing that she had some familiarity with the topic. "I want you to strengthen me to new heights. In return, I'll fight for you."

After all, while knowledge was power, _power _was power, too.

* * *

><p>"And as a result, we're friends now," she said to Eze, who eyed Kuda with caution.<p>

After their wonderful new relationship was established, the Summoner headed back through the gate to Mistral, motivated by her personal victory to go kick some ass.

She had kind of forgotten that Eze had fought in a war on the opposite side of Kuda. Amongst all the erratic mood shifts and tension, she had forgotten to review _History of the War With Gods, _and her rookie mistake could lead to a disagreement. Hopefully, there wouldn't be conflict. But…

"If you don't want to battle alongside him, we can work something out," she said, Kuda's previous words about coercion ringing in her ears. She was sure that many summoners were cooperative with their Units (it seemed like many were revered through history), but it only took a few rotten experiences to spoil someone's impression of humanity.

Moreover, what if certain individuals were literally insane? The logical answer would be not to use them in battle, but if a summoner didn't want to be killed, they would have to shackle the Unit down. The admission left a bad taste in her mouth, but she couldn't deny it.

She would try compromise whenever she could.

"…It's fine," Eze said. "As long as he didn't force you into anything."

She grinned. "Nah, it was a mutual agreement between comrades!" She did a goofy thumbs-up for emphasis.

Kuda stalked forward, probably jealous of her incredible camaraderie with Eze. "You didn't ask _me_ if I was okay with working with the legendary idiot of the Six Heroes," he said as he folded his hands behind his head.

Eze bristled. "What did you say?" He demanded, unsheathing his sword.

"Now the deaf idiot of the Six Heroes, apparently," Kuda said.

A shout of rage, and the sound of metal clashing on metal.

"Guys! We're supposed to be fighting the enemies, not each other!"

* * *

><p>"Holy shit," she squealed. Eze cringed at the two-octave jump her voice took, and Kuda shot her an annoyed glance. Haters. "They are <em>the cutest things ever.<em>"

She ran towards the King Squirties, bloated with water, their eyes a dull black. _Come to me, lovelies. _

"Hey, those monsters are hostile! Get back-" Eze's warning fell on deaf ears as a King Squirty blasted the Summoner with water, torrential jet powerful enough to send her flying through the air.

It was cold, and painful. She couldn't breathe, and she was lifted from the ground.

Kuda gripped onto her hood as she went sailing by, and hauled her over her shoulder.

"Are you a moron or a child?" he asked, voice scathing. She was soaked to the bone, her hair slick against her neck. The freezing winds that blew through the field were no help, a particularly brutal one causing shivers to course through her body.

Gosh, Kuda was being mean to a girl who was just rejected by her loved one(s).

She sneezed. "Can I have your cloak?"

"I _will _drop you."

* * *

><p>Despite Kuda's acidic nature and his constant fights with Eze (who was pretty cute when flustered, she had to admit), he was powerful. His Black Mist attack <em>melted <em>enemies and did a great job cleaning up whatever Eze and the Slime Squad couldn't take out in a single hit.

He may have been a dispassionate jerk who refused to loan a shivering girl his cloak, but it was okay because after a few minutes, Eze untied his top and handed it to her.

Off topic, but his abs were pretty sweet, too. And while his shirt was thin, it was much better than wearing a waterlogged hoodie.

She was going to give Eze _two _cakes. Kuda would get none.

"By the way, I summoned another powerful Unit," she said, summoning a Burny and holding it tight to her chest. She sighed in contentment and ignored its squirms in protest.

"Oh?" Kuda said, giving her a sidelong glance at her unconventional Burny usage.

She nodded. "A girl. She tried to kill me, too-" Aah, remember when Kuda tried to slit her throat? Fun times. "-but she didn't seem _that _averse to being summoned. She said, 'I'll give you one chance. If you screw up, I'm gone!'" the Summoner mimicked the girl's high pitched, angry voice. "I didn't get her name, though."

"Blonde hair? Axes?" Eze asked.

"Yeah, that sounds right. Her hair was tied up in these really high, curly ringlet-ponytails," the Summoner said, recalling her outlandish hairstyle.

"That's Michele, for sure," Eze said, whacking a Merman who got too close. "I think someone wrote this religious text about her after her death. I saw it on shelves but never read it." _Because it had nothing to do with fighting _was the unsaid reason.

"An aristocrat of the La Veda Republic," Kuda added. "I've done a few jobs relating to her family."

Did that mean he worked for her family, or someone in her family was one of his targets? Nonetheless, she had a name now, a name that the Summoner could use to stalk/research her.

She had been distracted by the quasi-drama with Kuda, but Michele was terrifying in her own right.

* * *

><p>The Snowfield was easy to traverse especially with the extra manpower. Soon enough, they were standing before a silhouette. The knight Tilith had mentioned, most likely.<p>

He was slim and androgynous, deep voice revealing his sex.

As her team prepared for a tough battle, she wondered about the battles she had fought. Well, it was more like she watched and tossed potions more than actually fighting.

…Was she even necessary? She could easily be replaced with a camera and a vending machine.

Kuda slashed at the boy's armor, searching for gaps that could be sliced through. The sound of his whip-sword clashing with the metal plates, stiffened by the cold, was grating and set her hairs on end.

Maxwell had the ability to summon as well, right? It was the exact same power that she and the other people of Elgaia used.

Maxwell could force any Unit to fight, even against their will. It was… wicked, without a shred of doubt. But according to Kuda, people who were supposed to be the "good guys" did it, too.

She frowned.

That knight looked young. What was he thinking, when his will had been cut and marionette strings were attached to his limbs, when he lost all autonomy? Could he even think, or did some kind of freaky brainwashing happen?

The Summoner was so lost in her thoughts that Kuda's warning came as a surprise, and she was surprised to see the Knight charging at _her_. She threw herself to the right, but his spear gouged a deep red gash in her side.

And it hurt like crazy. The wound immediately started gushing blood, pulsing hot red in comparison to the rest of her cold body.

"…Thunder Expulsion," Eze gritted out, appearing behind the knight and slashing him. With a crackle of lightning, the boy was decapitated and his head rolled to the ground before his entire body dissipated in a burst of light.

"I hate to agree with _him," _Eze said, jerking his head towards Kuda, who was picking Zel off the ground, "But you're definitely a moron."

He pressed a potion to her lips. She reluctantly gulped down the bitter-tasting liquid, feeling some of her pain alleviated.

"I agree too," she moaned, taking another potion. Her jaw was sore from all the chattering in the cold. "I am the worst."

And with that, Egor Snowfield had been conquered with the power of friendship. Kuda looked disgusted (which delighted her) at her proclamation, dismissing his summons and disappearing. She gave Eze a grin and a promise to return his shirt clean (she _had _bled all over it) before desummoning him.

She could talk to Tilith tomorrow. During the trek, the sun had set, causing the temperature to drop even further.

* * *

><p>The Summoner went back to Elgaia, and kept tripping over her tired, disobedient legs. Her stomach ached with hunger, and she just felt <em>disgusting, <em>especially after getting soaked and then injured. She ought to buy a backpack or something and bring snacks for their adventures. And start lifting, because her endurance was a joke.

Because she was a responsible adult, she had completely forgotten to buy groceries. On the other hand, Karl probably had stuff in the refrigerator, or she could take some vegetables from his backyard.

Karl's backyard was immense, probably larger than his house. Half of it was a patch of tilled land hosting a variety of herbs and crops, and the other half was for training.

Yes, Karl grew his own food. It probably tasted better than store-bought stuff, because he was literally perfect like that.

She opened the fridge for a quick survey. Mostly fruits and vegetables, a shelf of bottled water, and condiments. No meat or fish. Was he a vegetarian?

Well, she wasn't. She hoped he wouldn't be upset if she cooked meat with his tools. Did that sully them, in a vegetarian's eyes?

She shook her head, choosing to deal with it later. She desperately needed a shower. The bathroom called to her, and it sounded like an angelic choir.

As she rinsed shampoo out of her hair, she realized that she had no towel or spare clothes.

Fuck.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Michele <em>is a noble from La Veda who is focused on becoming stronger. Aggressive and violent, but loyal and protective of her loved ones.**

* * *

><p><strong>There is also a bit where the Summoner stands naked in front of Karl's wardrobe, feeling immensely guilty as she puts on his clothes, but the shower felt like a fun place to end.<strong>

**And that is the first day of the Summoner's ~crazy adventure~! It only took 14k words. What is pacing**

**I showed my friend parts of this chapter, and he commented "Wow eris, you're really good at writing sexual tension." Then, immediately: "I know you wrote porn of this, so show it to me already."**

**Honestly, sometimes I think about certain team compositions, and I wonder HOW WOULD THAT WORK? Like, any team with Melchio and Michele/Duel-GX/the others. "Hey, Michele, buff the dude who literally killed you!" As a result, I've chosen to go with a kind of dark interpretation of summoning. I forget that some of these character storylines are pretty dark, because the quest dialogue is so goofy.**

**Oh, and I'm probably going to have the Summoner start training because she's a ridiculous liability at this point. What do you think her weapon should be? That'll likely affect who her teacher will be. Karl and Grah use lances, and Seria, Lugina, and Paris use swords. Decisions, decisions.**

**I'm very grateful for all your faves, follows, and your wonderful reviews. They are very motivating, even though that isn't obvious by how long this chapter took to come out… hangs head u_u**

**As always, thanks for reading.**

**-eris**


	4. Chapter 4

The Summoner woke up with a sore back in some place she didn't recognize. Pale yellow light gleamed through rounded windows, illuminating the dew dripping from the leaves of several green plants sitting on the sill. She could hear birds chirping. It was like some nonsense out of a fairytale.

Oh. She was in Karl's house, she realized as she glimpsed at the letter he had written for her yesterday, now laid out on the table.

Oh. She was now in a completely different world, on some ambitious quest assigned to her by the god of the Gates (who she thought was kind of a tool, to be perfectly honest).

Well, at least she hadn't gotten knock-out drunk and done something she regretted.

Shrugging the blanket off of her body, she swung her bare feet onto the ground and began stretching, cringing at the _crack _and _pop _sounds her tired joints made. The most exercise she got as a normal civilian on Earthwas maybe a few laps around the track in high school, and the Egor Snowfield had easily been at least ten miles long. Not to mention, she had to dodge the aggressive tackles from slimes and mermen, and she had gotten _stabbed in the side. _

The aftermath of that was pretty incredible, too. Back home, with that injury, she could have died or been disabled for life. But here, a tiny green bottle was all that was needed for her flesh to repair itself like clockwork. She poked her side. The skin felt smooth and unscarred. It was a pity that she couldn't say the same for her hoodie and shirt, which now sported an attractive tear on the side.

Maybe she could sneak a few of the things in her pocket and win a Nobel Prize for the crazy medical breakthrough. That is, if she didn't die a painful death at the hands of the Four Fallen.

Considering that all of the humanoid Units she had encountered were fairly young, and the incredible healing technology that was so common, what kind of horrible wounds would they had to have sustained in order to actually die?

Ugh, thinking about such dark topics first thing in the morning would give her stomach ulcers. She shook her head, and made a mental to-do list for the day:

_-Buy paper and pen in order to make physical list_

_-Buy backpack, fill with food_

_-Buy clothes (underwear was mentally underlined multiple times)_

_-Look Michele up in Unit Compendium_

_-Explore Forest and maybe Wetlands_

Her stomach rumbled.

_Find food._

She felt too lazy to bother with cooking, and the cleanup would have required even more effort. And she had no clue what some of the plants in Karl's fridge were for.

* * *

><p>The Summoner thought about the places she had seen during her confused trek through town the previous day, and where she could obtain the items she needed. She stopped at the door of a nearby restaurant, so absorbed in finding the most efficient route that she didn't notice the door swinging open-<p>

-and a person walking right into her.

They fell to the ground with a simultaneous _oof, _the sheaf of papers in his arms scattering all over the ground.

The first thing she noticed about him was the blue hair. If the trend was to be followed, it was safe to assume that this guy would have some significant role to play in her life, she noted with humor.

Oh wait, she had to be a polite human being.

"Sorry about that. I was busy thinking," she said, bending down and picking up some of his documents.

"Don't touch those! They're classified information," he snapped. "And who just _stands _in front of a business's door?"

Then, she noticed that he was much younger and shorter than her. Why were young teenagers so rude? At least _that _stayed the same between worlds. On the other hand, she had been standing in front of a heavy-traffic door, with the reactiveness of a potato, so it was partially her fault.

"Sorry," she said lamely. For someone who was half her height, he had all the cold scorn and authority of a surly schoolteacher, and made her feel like a grade schooler who had scribbled crayon over the walls.

Moreover, why did such a young boy have "classified information"?

He gathered his papers, and picked up-

"Oh, that's mine," she said, reaching for the cluster of pages. At one point yesterday, Kuda had let her steal the pages about him back, and she had stuffed it in her pocket. She was pretty sure that he loved her with the entirety of the lump of coal he called his heart.

Miraculously, even though she was thoroughly waterlogged and miserable at the end of the day, the pages remained pristine. That was Akras Summoners' Hall quality, huh.

The boy narrowed his eyes at the section of the text that faced outwards. Them, he drew his hand back.

"Usually, when a person drops something of theirs, you're supposed to return it," she pointed out.

"This is data that belongs to the Akras Summoner's Hall. You shouldn't have this," he said. "You're not a Summoner. I've memorized the names and faces of every person enlisted in the Army, and you're not one of them."

Did this kid… have no friends, or something? Her eyebrows furrowed, and she looked at him with pity.

"Come with me," he commanded.

Now, she knew that she was pathetically weak and had the constitution of a butterfly made out of tissue paper, but she was _pretty sure _that she could take this guy. He was two heads shorter than her, and his skinny legs looked like white toothpicks protruding out of his dark brown shorts.

Which were really, really short. But she wasn't going to comment on that. The boy was _underage. _And moreover, she didn't like assaulting children. It seemed like such a villainous thing to do.

So she followed the boy with the white coat and horrible personality out of the food district to… well, she had no clue. If the location turned out to be suspicious she could get him in the eye with Karl's key, put up a decent fight at least.

Enjoy a lack of depth perception, bastard. But yeah, she could summon Eze to go all "liquefy the enemy's insides" on them, so she wasn't particularly wary.

Unbeknownst to her, he would subject her to horrors that she had never faced before in her life, and change it forever.

* * *

><p>He had ushered her into a laboratory of sorts, filled with loads of complicated-looking machinery and mysterious liquids suspended in large tubes. He at a desk, lounging in a chair like it was a throne. She sat across from him, in a chair that was literally stone. There was no cushion or anything, and no matter how much she shifted, she couldn't find a comfortable position.<p>

"So, you're from another world." He said this in a flat tone of voice, stirring a cup of coffee in one hand and writing something with the other. When she tried to take a peek, he swatted at her nose.

"Yeah. I know it sounds far-fetched, but that's why-"

"It's not 'far-fetched' at all," he interrupted, using sassy finger quotes to mock her. "Throughout history, many individuals have appeared, claiming to come from different worlds. The power of the Gate is to travel to between worlds. Don't be so arrogant as to think yourself exceptional."

He was kind of a dick.

"The thing that is exceptional," he said, "is that you can _summon_, even though you are not from Elgaia. You see, all humans have the innate ability to summon, but without proper training, it is impossible. The only group of people with enough resources to unlock a potential summoner's ability is the Akras Summoners' Hall." Somewhere during his spiel, he had stopped talking _to _her and started talking _at _her, spitting out ideas and facts and conjecture.

"Well, I did have a deep bonding experience with Lucius before arriving here. Maybe his involvement is related to my abilities," she quipped. "We braided each others' hair and talked about our feelings."

The kid ignored her hilarious joke and stared at his paper with enough intensity to set it ablaze.

He stood up, and then he was all up in her face. Was personal space not a thingin this world?

"Summon something," he ordered, hands on either side of her, grasping the cold stone armrests. His eyelashes were really long.

She sighed. "You know, you're rude. You've taken me to this weird facility, insulted me, and ordered me around like a lackey."

The air seemed to condense for a second, and then a Sparky appeared in her arms. She willed the Sparky to shock the hell out of the guy as she smushed it into his face.

Nothing nerve-damaging or burn-inducing, naturally. Something very painful would do.

"You haven't even told me your name," she said. The Sparky did exactly what she wanted, judging by the kid's startled yelp. He fell backwards, rubbing his cheeks vigorously.

His hair was standing up, haha. With a loving pat on the yellow mochi's head, she dismissed the summon. At her smirk, the boy scowled, and reached over and touched the exposed skin of her neck.

"Ow!" residual shock was a bitch. So was karma.

"For the record," he said after a moment, "I have no obligation to share my name with a possible criminal." _One who has shown violent tendencies at that, _she thought he muttered. "But my name is Noel. I'm head of the Akras Summoners' Hall's Research Lab."

"Wait, go back to the 'possible criminal' part, please," she said. She'd cover the 'prepubescent research head' topic later.

"Well, unauthorized possession of information, for one." Noel said, sticking up a single finger to emphasize his point. He lifted a second finger. "Destruction of Hall property. That's not explicitly stated, but ripping out pages from our Compendium leads to implicature that doesn't look very favorable on you. Who were you trying to give that information to?"

Welp. She was going to Summoner jail, or worse. Hopefully she wouldn't be executed in the public square and made an example of.

"And the third," a third finger came up, "unauthorized summoning ability. This has only happened once before, and the person was outside the purview of the Akras Summoners' Hall, so you're the first scenario that's relevant to us. How we handle your case will set a precedent for all other cases in the future." With his point made, he smoothed out his teal hair, walked back to his desk, and began writing so furiously that she could hear the scratch of the pen from where she was sitting.

What he was saying, then, was that she ran the risk of screwing over kids years from now. She sighed.

"Does it help if I say that I wasn't planning on doing anything nefarious with those pages?"

"Not really," Noel said, tearing down her hopes and dreams without blinking an eye. "Why did you have them, anyway?"

"Well, the Unit in question tore the pages out of the book, and I yelled at him for a little, but then we made nice, and he let me steal the pages back. I forgot I had them when I bumped into you."

The look he gave her was _withering. _She shrugged.

"I'm not lying. He took them because he _didn't want information about him circulated _but that didn't make sense, because these books are mass produced, so I think he just wanted the pictures of himself. He's kinda vain and these drawings are pretty cool."

The sound of writing stopped. In her explanation, she had let her eyes wander the gargantuan machinery of the lab, the wires and glass apparatuses of undiscernible nature, but at the silence, she turned to face her captor.

He looked up from his notes, eyes wide. "Could you repeat that again? Please," he added as an afterthought.

"Um, the illustrations in the Unit Compendium were really well-done, so Kuda wanted to steal his own." Probably. Kuda was hard to understand most of the time. All of the time, to be perfectly honest. Moreover, what was with this sudden change in atmosphere?

Noel looked back at his notes, manner sedate. "I see."

Then, silence. But this time, it was way less tense than before. Sure, Noel still looked like an angry little boy as he flipped through pages on his notepad and added to the cramped writing, but there was an extra overtone of _contentment_.

She felt like she was missing out on something.

"Your ability is quite high," Noel noted, "If you were able to control a Unit as high-ranked as Kuda."

Well, haha. Define _control. _Could anyone really control Kuda? She smiled sheepishly. "Well, the gems are the ones that do all the hard work, right?"

"That's a possibility," he agreed, "but you were also able to convey your will through the Sparky using only a mental connection. That type of synchronization only happens between an experienced Summoner and a Unit they have a particularly strong bond with. Most commands are given orally. While a Sparky is hardly a high-level Unit, your feat is impressive."

"Um, then how can summoners control Units that don't obey them? Isn't that kind of a mental connection?" Kuda had said as much during their Real Talk yesterday.

"It is usually done by using spoken word as a focusing point, too," Noel said. "It also takes vigorous training. First, the trainee learns to suppress any violent or disobedient traits in the Unit's personality, which leads to fewer accidents. It isn't foolproof by any means, however. This is why trainees study some form of weapon training, to protect themselves from monsters and their own Units equally. Summoners are assigned to squads, so they always have some form of backup. And even so, many Summoner squads have been wiped out by a single wayward Unit."

…Yup, those "dystopian horror" alarms were ringing pretty loudly now. The Units were pretty much turned into zombies, mutable to the Summoner's will, and in the worst-case scenario, some idiot children were slaughtered for their silly mistakes, and who knows what happened to the Unit.

"…so as a result, there is a rating system based on rank that dissuades rookie summoners from trying to control individuals who would kill them with little hesitation." Noel sighed. "Despite that, Elza _still _remains a desirable summon. It's baffling."

"I see. Thanks for the information," she said. "You're awfully forthcoming with it."

"Of course. I've no qualms with giving away sensitive information to a girl who will be executed in a few hours."

What? Her heart leapt to her throat, and she felt the urge to spring out of her chair and start running, no matter how stupid of an idea that sounded. She looked at Noel again, and…

"I didn't realize you were one to make jokes with a 'possible criminal,' she said, scowling and curling in on her chair. Noel's smile was brilliant and maybe it could have been cute, if Noel was not the devil incarnate.

"Well, now that I've gotten to speak with you, it seems implausible that you'd have the stones to defy the law," he said. That was an insult. Or was it a compliment? It was probably both.

She threw her shoe at him. With a slight tilt of his hips, he dodged with ease.

"So, judging by that pitiful attempt, you've not had any combat training." He tapped his chin. "That's worrisome, considering that your mysterious abilities have the capacity to place you in real peril."

"I've been okay so far," she protested. "Kuda tried to cut my throat when I first summoned him, but our relationship has progressed in spades since then. Look," and here, she gestured to her unblemished neck; the potion yesterday had healed every wound on her body, but Noel didn't need to know that, "throat in one piece."

"One day, you'll inadvertently call over some Unit with less self-control and less sanity than Kuda, and then we'll have to waste resources in cleaning your innards off the Rare Summon Gate, and assemble a team to wrangle your wayward Unit." Noel sighed, and gave her a look like she was a huge nuisance. "I've got to fix this. Be quiet for a few minutes, will you?"

* * *

><p>When Noel had told her to "be quiet for a few minutes," he was <em>lying <em>like the filthy liar he was. He gave her an annoyed look and a flick to the forehead whenever she tried to engage/pester him, and refused to answer any of her questions.

She was pretty sure that Hell was sitting in a room, hungry, bored, and miserable while a boy barely five feet tall sat a few feet away, apathetic towards her withering.

So she started poking around the machines and supply closets. She didn't _touch _anything; this was scary science stuff. She liked having arms, thank you very much. The closets were neatly stocked with office supplies and were _boring. _

Maybe… she could summon someone to talk to? But then again, she felt guilty bothering Eze, and while she didn't feel any guilt over bothering Kuda, he could tolerate her for only about five minutes at a time.

Huh. Now that she thought about it, what exactly did Units do when they weren't being summoned by someone? Furthermore, could two of the same Unit be summoned at the same time? What stopped someone from summoning, like, a thousand of a single Unit and smothering the enemy?

Now, if only there was someone who was knowledgeable who could provide her with answers.

"Hey, Noel-"

"I need more data," he interrupted.

"Pardon?" He crumpled up the piece of paper he had been writing on, crumpled it up, and tossed it into the wastebasket across the room. It landed perfectly, like it was thrown by someone who had done it a thousand times before.

"I'd like to see you in combat," Noel said. "You can battle one of my experiments." He stood up, and with a billow of his coat, stalked to some machinery. With a dexterous strum of his fingers, the console came to life.

A single white door to his right slid open with a _whoosh. _

"Before we start, you should-" She stopped listening to him, because through the door, she saw someone she did _not _expect to see in Noel's laboratory, where he probably tortured small animals in for sport. She ran through the door.

* * *

><p>The floor was cold concrete. She felt it through her sock. Bright light cast sharp shadows across the circular room, leaving nothing hidden. There was another door opposite the one she entered through, but that was sealed. She paid that no mind, though, her attention focused on the figure standing in the room's center.<p>

Karl blinked. "Hello."

What.

"You're supposed to be on a mission," she said slowly, walking up to him. Upon closer scrutiny, it really _was _him. Not like she spent that much time staring at Karl's face or anything, but the gentle eyes and the soft cut of his features felt pretty accurate.

"Ah," he said, rubbing the back of his neck, "I'm not the real Karl. Rather, I'm a mock-Unit created by Noel. I'm sorry to confuse you." He smiled, and _yup_, that smile was absolutely Karl.

On the other hand, this was really creepy. In hindsight, most of the disturbing yet passable observations she had made about Noel before seemed much more sinister if she considered the possibility that he was insane and had a fixation on Karl to the point where he built a clone of him.

As a friend, she had the obligation to let him know about his creepy stalker. But if Noel had resources to this extent, and such a twisted mind, he could probably do horrible things to her. She shuddered.

"Oh, are you cold?" Not-Karl asked. He closed the distance between them, and wrapped his arms around her.

It wasn't that helpful – his skin was cool to touch, but physical contact calmed her down. Even when Karl's raw data was placed in Noel's probably-insane hands, the kindness stayed, huh?

An object flew from across the room and hit her in the back of the head.

"Your thoughts are projected perfectly on your face," Noel remarked, irritation perfectly projected on his face. He folded his arms and leaned on the doorframe. "You should have listened to my explanation before walking in here without guidance, and before drawing ridiculous conclusions about my interests."

"…What did you do to my shoe?" she demanded, distraught. Half of her favorite pair of Converse, that she spent an hour drawing patterns on in marker when she first bought, was mutilated. It couldn't be called a shoe in this state.

"Well, upon picking it up, I noticed that some of the material of your footwear was unlike anything indexed by the Summoners' Hall before, so I sequestered it. Consider it payment for the annoyance tax in this lab."

He didn't even wait for her to ask before delivering his punch line:

"The annoyance tax is something placed on excessively annoying people, but I'm sure you've surmised that already."

Not-Karl tightened his grip on her, which was good, because she was about to jump across the room and rip Noel's face off.

"It wouldn't do to injure the head of the Research Department," he said pleasantly. "You'd set back technological development in Elgaia for years."

"That's right," Noel said in a smug tone, hands in his pockets like the tiny, prepubescent tool that he was. He shifted his gaze to not-Karl. "You can let her go now. I'd like to proceed with Trial 001."

"Trial?" Noel gave her a dry look.

"If you'd taken the time to listen to me, we wouldn't be having this conversation." She was released from her blue prison, and Noel tossed her a pair of brown leather boots.

Rest in peace, Converse. She slipped them on, and was surprised at how comfortable they were.

"My most significant project involves the synthesis and testing of powerful Mock Units," Noel said, puffing up in pride like a bird. "Due to the instabilities and possible liabilities of using souls and relying on the gods, I've decided to put our precious soldiers' lives in the hands of technology, which is much easier to control." His face hardened. "That way, I can help protect the people who protect the citizens. Humanity in the hand of humans."

Hmm. Maybe Noel wasn't so bad, now that she learned about his motivation. His personality could almost be tolerated. Heck, by the end of the day, she might even _like _him.

"We've taken data from some of the strongest summoners in the Hall and replicated them into mock Units," he explained, nodding his head at not-Karl. "I wasn't aware that you knew him personally, though. But now that I take a look at you, you're wearing his old training clothes, correct?"

Since her hoodie was in pieces, she took some of the smallest clothes she could find in Karl's wardrobe. Hopefully it was something he hadn't worn in a while, so as to avoid cause him any inconvenience.

Noel squinted his eyes at her, as if concentrating. He smirked.

"Heh, I didn't think that guy was capable of being devious. So those pages were from his copy of the Compendium?"

Karl, devious? That sounded as likely as Michele being a pacifist. She nodded and gave him a questioning look, but Noel moved on.

"Currently, you're not even close to being strong enough to be collected for mock-Unit data." Wow, those were some pretty hardcore shots he had just fired. And they hit their mark, right in her feelings. "But you can help my research by facing my mock-Units in battle. I want them to be as strong as possible, so the number of people who can test my Units decreases as they become stronger. And if you beat my Units, I'll give you a nice reward, and you can keep the Unit, too."

She tilted her head. "You'd just give away hours of work and probably loads of money, just like that?"

Noel crinkled his nose. "I don't have use for a project that can be defeated."

Ouch. Mock-Karl was standing _right there, _Noel.

"Anyways, it gives me the chance to observe Unit strengthening under a summoner, and outside of laboratory conditions, so it's mutually beneficial."

Hm. That all seemed acceptable, so she nodded. Noel gave the clipboard in his hands a look-over, his gaze all-business. "Okay, let's start testing."

He took a single step backwards, and the door slid shut, sealing her in with the mock-Unit.

* * *

><p>She fell to the floor, soaked to the bone and shivering. The forms of Eze, Kuda, and Michele (who had been oddly cooperative when placed directly in a battle situation) disappeared with a burst of white light.<p>

"I don't really know what I was expecting," Noel said as he stepped in.

Mock-Karl gave her a hand up. "I hope we can fight again, when you've improved." Gosh, even Karl thought that she was pathetically weak. It had been a warm day, and the air-conditioning in the laboratory made her feel like she was standing in a deep freezer.

"Oh, don't be like that, now. While you were defeated spectacularly, it's not the worse I've seen people do against him. You were even able to take a few hits."

"How do you do that, Noel? The reading my mind thing."

"You're very transparent, Miss…" He trailed off.

He absolutely didn't know her name, but was too prideful to admit it. That was adorable. Noel reminded her of a really mean, spoiled cat. She pinched his cheek, and he smacked her arm away.

"Cut that out. You're dripping all over the floor," he snapped, cheeks red from her assault. "There's shower stalls at the end of the hall over there." He grabbed her wrist and guided her to a door.

"Bye!" she shouted over her shoulder, following a miffed Noel as he dragged her away. Mock-Karl responded a genial wave before the door to the battle room slid shut.

Upon exiting the lab, she was stricken by how different the rest of the building was. The cold tile floors became green carpet, and the black matte walls shifted to a pleasant yellow.

"The shelves should be stocked to your needs. I'll send someone to bring you clothes," Noel said as he stopped in front of a door.

He turned back to his lab, leaving her to her own devices.

That seemed tactically unwise. Or maybe Noel had just completely dismissed her as a threat at this point. She turned and entered the restroom, which was dimly lit and decorated with warm-colored tiles. A vanilla-scented candle burnt on the black marble sinktop.

She stripped, happy to remove the heavy, cold clothing from her body. Grabbing some random products from a shelf, she hopped into the shower. The hot water felt heavenly on her body.

So, day two of adventures in Grand Gaia had been pretty wild, too. It wasn't "other universes exist"-wild, but learning about things like mock Units and stuff was mind-blowing.

It was insane – Karl's mock Unit felt so similar to the real thing. She didn't think that she could distinguish between the two if they were placed side-by-side. And the fact that this _living, breathing person _was created from… well, she wasn't sure what mock-Karl was made out of. Did he have a soul? Was it synthetic? How did Noel manage to create something like that?

She'd have to visit him sometime. Being exposed to Noel for so many hours in a day had to _suck. _Or, she could get good and win him.

But there were three things wrong with that:

The weirdness of owning a Unit who was the perfect likeness of a friend.

The weirdness of _owning _a Unit. The Units she had met so far were their own people. Mock-Karl kind of sounded like he was created only for his summoner to use him in battle.

The difficulty of the task. Mock-Karl had been ridiculously powerful.

She wondered how he compared to the strength of the Four Fallen Gods. Considering that Lucius went outside of Elgaia for assistance, it meant that they had to be way stronger. And that meant that she had a really long way to go.

Moreover, why did Lucius pick her when there were myriad summoners who were more experienced than her? When _Karl _existed? It didn't make any sense.

Ugh. All of a sudden, she didn't want to step out of the shower and face her responsibilities anymore. She rinsed the shampoo out of her hair and thought about how she would have to apologize to her Units for getting their asses kicked. Michele said that she'd give her a single chance, and she used it up on this.

To top it all off, she _still _hadn't had any breakfast yet.

She turned the shower off, and stepped barefoot onto the tile, idly hoping that there wasn't some kind of fungal disease on the tiles. Dripping all over the floor, she grabbed a towel from the rack and wrapped it around her.

Noel said that there would be someone to send her clothes, but nobody-

"Oh, you're out already!" a chipper voice called out. A girl, perhaps a few years older than her, walked into the bathroom. "Noel rushed to have these made for you. Sorry for the wait! My name's Lin, by the way."

"Uh, hi there, Lin," the Summoner said, giving the green-haired girl her own name. Lin nodded vigorously, the expensive-looking headset she was wearing bobbing up and down with the motion, and handed the Summoner an opaque plastic bag.

"Here's your clothes! It's some of his better work, I think! He definitely takes care of new recruits pretty well," she said, giggling. "Anyways, I have some assignments, so I'll probably see you later!" Lin left with the same suddenness of her arrival.

How much coffee did she have to drink to be that energetic? She had called the Summoner a "new recruit," too. What did that mean?

Shrugging the questions away, she opened the bag, taking a look at what Noel had selected for her.

* * *

><p>"Noel," she cried as she barged into the familiar laboratorydungeon. "_I love you._"

"Stay at least five meters away from me," Noel warned, brandishing a menacingly sharp pen at her. Hah, as if a puny instrument of death could stop her from expressing her emotions. She launched herself at him, and she liked to think that it was because he loved her back that he didn't dodge.

"This is really cool! Thanks a lot!" she said, rubbing her cheek against his. Noel had set her up with some of the nicest clothes she had ever seen. A soft black turtleneck, a white vest, black shorts, and black high socks. Not to mention the awesome white armor-plated arm warmers and boots. And the _utility belt. _And the cape. Noel freaking gave her a cape.

She took back everything negative she said about him. A cape! She felt like an actual superhero when she wore it.

"Let go of me already-! You shouldn't wear that at your level anyway, you'll just trip over it-"

"Ahem." They turned to meet the steely-blue gaze of a small girl with neatly-trimmed black hair, holding a sheaf of papers in one hand arm. She looked vaguely amused at the scene. "I apologize for the wait. I'm ready to take the new recruit through orientation now."

Noel shoved her hard, and she landed on her butt with an _oof_.

"I regret even bringing you here in the first place," Noel muttered, face bright red.

"Wait, 'new recruit'? What does that mean?"

Noel ran a hand through his hair. "Well, your crime was the possession of information restricted to the Summoners' Hall. As a member of the army, I have no choice but to punish you for your crime. However, there's an easy way to nullify your infraction."

"…By recruiting me," she finished. Noel nodded.

"That way, the friend who lent you the book won't get in trouble, either. It's an ingenious solution."

Well, it sounded pretty faulty. She still committed the crime as a civilian, so she should be punished for the crime whether she was in the army or not. She chose not to point this out.

She also picked up on the fact that he was flagrantly blackmailing her by threatening to involve Karl.

"Of course, it'll help me keep records of you, too. Despite your insufferableness, you're still an anomaly," he said, "and anomalies must be investigated." He said this with an odd undertone to it, like he was holding a scalpel to one of her vital organs, and it made her hair stand on one end.

"Noel has explained your situation to us," the mysterious girl said, "and based on his evaluation, you've been accepted into the Akras Summoners' Hall. My name is Sera Starride of the Akras Administration Office, and you have my congratulations." She bowed.

The Summoner scratched her cheek. "Uh, thanks. I guess." What had Noel said about her that made the Hall accept her with such short notice?

"However, there are medical evaluations and forms that must be filled out," Sera said. "This is the first time where we've had an applicant with literally no pre-existing documents, so please forgive me if I make an error in the process. If you'll follow me, please."

And so, she was led through the winding halls of the Administration Building and subjected to one of the most painful, bloody tortures of her life:

Paperwork.

* * *

><p>Remember when she said that Noel wasn't that bad and she retracted all the negative things she said about him?<p>

Well, she retracted her retraction. This was completely his fault.

* * *

><p>"You've finished. Thank you for being patient with me," Sera said, collecting the last bundle of papers and stuffing them into a black leather folder. The Summoner was slumped over a wooden desk, half-dead. She would say something sarcastic, but… she was way too tired. And Sera was so polite that she would feel bad being rude to the other girl.<p>

"Ugh. What time is it now? Am I dead? Is time merely a construct of our own imaginations, meant to give our own futile existences meaning?"

Sera gave her a confused look. "Miss, it's currently seventeen hundred hours." She gestured to an open window, where bright sunlight flowed through.

"Oh. Thanks," she replied. "Can I go now?"

Sera nodded. "Yes, you can. Here is the standard package given to our applicants. This is one copy of _The Akras Summoners' Hall Unit Compendium_, one standard communicator for use on missions, one arena pass, one adventurer's backpack, one mailbox key, one metal god, three gems, and one summon ticket." All of the items were neatly arranged in the backpack, which the Summoner accepted with grace.

"I would give you our standard armor, but it seems that Noel has gifted you a custom set."

Sera then went behind the ornate white counter where she sat at, rummaged for something, and returned holding a silver key.

"This is a metal key, which I am responsible for distributing. We restrict passage into certain areas of the Vortex Gate to avoid overhunting of the energy-rich Units that live there, and this key will allow you access to the areas for an hour. You are entitled to one key a day, so please come by daily to pick them up." She bowed again.

The Summoner nodded in agreement, not really listening to Sera's words.

"This summon ticket is a coveted item that is rarely distributed by the Summoners' Hall. There are several machines standing by the Rare Summon gate, and when this ticket is fed to one of them, five gems will be dispensed to you, and you can summon a Unit at the expense of the Hall," Sera explained, handing the golden piece of paper to the Summoner.

"Thanks. I'll come back to you if I have any questions." It was an answer that she usually gave to teachers when she wanted them to leave her alone, and it worked well on Sera. The bespectacled girl nodded, and wished her a good day.

The Summoner left the building with the weariness of a war veteran. Stumbling like a zombie, she desperately searched for the one item that would save her from certain death.

_Caffeine..._

Maybe she had screeched like a banshee when she approached a café, and maybe that wasn't the proudest moment of her life. But she was caffeinated now, and color returned to her vision again. After a quick fifteen minute nap in the park, she was revitalized and ready to go. Thanks, lifehacks subreddit.

So, thanks to her hijinks, she had a backpack and proper clothes. She also had food _now. _All that left was a bit more shopping and research. She decided to cancel the adventuring plans for the day, considering how severely her squad had been beaten down by Mock-Karl. Hopefully, Tilith wouldn't be too mad at her, or accuse her of slacking off.

She would cook them a "sorry for losing we don't suck that horribly" dinner. And maybe grovel at Michele for a few minutes and beg for her mercy.

After wandering aimlessly for an hour, she finally found buildings that looked familiar. Holding bags full of crockery (Karl didn't have many plates in his house) and food ingredients (especially meat, and something that resembled a potato but was blue?) she had purchased at ridiculously low prices (around two thousand zel), she opened the door to Karl's house. Placing the bags on the floor, she figuratively rolled up her sleeves and began working.

* * *

><p>"…What is this?" Kuda asked, staring down at his plate.<p>

"It's poached octopus with pomegranate," she replied. Well, it was a tentacle creature strongly resembling an octopus, and a fruit that she was pretty sure was a pomegranate. The taste turned out to be sufficient. The slimes under the table seemed to enjoy the makeshift blue potato salad she made, anyway.

All the produce and ingredients here were slightly _off_. She hadn't made a major faux pas yet, but one day she would put a pink carrot in a soup and end up killing her whole squad, or something.

Eze shoveled his entire portion down his throat, and asked/demanded for a second portion. She obliged.

Kuda gave the swordsman a sidelong glance, condescending sneer apparent. Luckily, Eze was so engrossed in eating that he didn't notice. Which was good.

Fights at the dinner table would _not _be tolerated.

"If you want something less weird, I can prepare you another dish." She had friends who had quailed from her signature poached octopus during their first encounter, but they had all been converted to the dark side over time. "Like gruel."

She turned to Michele, who had been picking at her food. "I can make something for you too, Michele, and not gruel. Anything you want," the Summoner said, voice rising in nervousness.

The blonde looked startled that the Summoner had initiated conversation. "…It's fine," she said, averting her gaze.

Okay, that was horrifyingly out-of-character for her. Did Michele catch a cold from their battle, or something? Fire-types were weak to water-types, right?

Kuda raised an eyebrow. "This isn't a problem," he said.

He picked up a fork and reached for his food. She watched with trepidation. How did Kuda eat? Would he Kakashi Hatake his meal? Put on _another _mask, maybe?

He raised a hand-

-and pulled down his mask, and started eating.

Oh.

"This isn't bad," he commented, chewing on the octopus. "I didn't expect someone like you to be a decent cook." After a beat: "…Why are you giving me that look?"

"It's nothing," she said, surprised that he ate in such pedestrian ways. Fiction had made her think that all mask-wearers were sociopathically averse to showing their faces.

"Heh, are you stunned by my face? Most people who see it don't live to tell the tale." He winked.

Eze snorted. "More like she was stunned by your hideousness."

"I'm surprised that you know a word with that many syllables, moron."

"_What did you-"_

The Summoner sighed, rubbing her temples. This was only the appetizer; how was she going to get through her other courses?

Of course, there was the oddly sullen Michele that she had to worry about, too.

* * *

><p>"-And then noodles went flying everywhere and Eze knocked over a row of Karl's potted plants, so I got mad at him and left the house. I guess he felt bad, cleaned up, and dismissed himself?" She wondered if Kuda had helped. Probably not. "So when I left, I decided to use that Summon Ticket that Sera gave me. And now I have you."<p>

"I see," Zephyr replied. He hadn't expected such a lengthy, profanity-riddled reply, but it had been both informative and interesting, so he couldn't complain.

She nodded. "I guess I have to do something to show Eze that I'm not really angry with him. Tomorrow," she said, tilting her head. "Anyways, would you like some food? Sorry that they're leftovers."

It was interesting. By all accounts, the Units used in summoning did not require any sustenance aside from the summoners' power. This was a widely-known fact, except by the girl who was bouncing around the small house like a child, apparently.

He wondered why the Units she had offered food hadn't told her. At that level, dining was only a symbolic act, one of communion-

-ah. He understood now.

"I'd like that," he said. The Summoner beamed and unstrapped the pot from her stomach, placing it in the pantry.

"Alright, then! I think Kuda ate all the octopus, but there's still noodles and I'll heat them up-"

An opening of a door stopped her sentence. Zephyr's hand flew to his waist. He hadn't anticipated a third element in the house.

"M-Michele?" the Summoner said, incredulous. "Have you been here this entire time?"

The aristocrat ignored the other girl's query. Her sharp candy-apple gaze swept over him momentarily, eyes glimmering with recognition. Then they turned to the Summoner.

"I need to speak with you," Michele said to her, voice terse.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Noel<em> is the head of R&D for the Akras Summoners' Hall. A genius, and knows it. Values his research above all else.**

**_Lin_ is an upbeat worker from the Survey Office. Her job is to communicate with summoners in the field, manage explorations into unknown territories, and manage the various seasons of Frontier Hunter.**

**_Sera_ is a guide from the Administration Office. She is responsible for maintaining information on all Summoners and distributing Metal and Jewel Keys. Serious and strait-laced.**

* * *

><p><strong>And now the anachronism is over, and we are back in regular time.<strong>

**Here's a longer chapter for taking forever, again. I'm kind of brain-dead right now, so I'll send my (severely overdue) responses to messages in the morning. I think I write _more _when school is in session, oddly enough.**

**Apologies if this chapter was dry to read – I've got to do that world-building thing! I honestly have no idea currently how to explain duplicate Units and bringing a friend's Unit into a dungeon. I might throw in an OC or two to make the process less painful, so sorry in advance if you have a horrible aversion to OCs.**

**I love writing rude, snippy, smartass characters, which is why Kuda's always a joy to write, and I had a blast with Noel. It's hard to imagine being that caliber of prodigy in the military and _not _being an arrogant tool. I have a secret theory that he is a huge geek who's made a mock-Unit of himself, and the Unit is ridiculously OP.**

**I know that each trial is 50 stamina and the Summoner wouldn't be able to even attempt it at her level, but I've got to mix it up somehow. Linearly progressing through each quest region would kill me. _Groans _I can't believe we're still only at the Forest of Beasts  
><strong>

**…Imagine facing Karl with only a 2* Eze, 4*Kuda, and 4*Michele, though. Scary.**

**In other news, I've posted a variety of story ideas on my profile page, and I'd be happy if you'd check them out and vote for what you think is most interesting. Thanks for doing that, if you do.**

**And thanks for reading.**

**-eris**


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